Sidier's Mission
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to Neo Gospel's Rise. It's been about four months since the battle with "Neo Gospel". Their survivors can only do hit-n-run attacks and don't seem worrisome sans a leader. Yet they suddenly form a huge army made up of never-before-seen Navis, revived Darkloids and copied Net Navis. But could this be the work of another party instead of "Neo Gospel"? Rated M for lemon.
1. Prologue: Orders

**Sidier's Mission**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Prologue: Orders**

20:07 PM (Japan Time), Friday December the 14th, 2007…

"… Hum. I'm eager to check out what this "mission" will be about…"

A person walked through a stone corridor filled with a creepy purple fog: four locked wooden doors were placed at each side of its length.

The person looked around thirteen or fourteen years old and being just over a meter in fifty in height.

His helmet had the _Kanji_ "Yami no Oukoku" or "Dark Realm" drawn into them using blood red color and set vertically on the forehead.

He had three parallel thin vertical blood red lines traveling down his body from the neck and shoulders to the hips.

Some silver-colored hair could be seen coming from behind the helmet and his eyes' irises were red and golden: he looked calm but intrigued at the same time.

His bodysuit design had a jet black color to it while the forearms and boots were colored in a purplish color: some blood red-colored DNA-like patterns were set on them and travelled across their length.

His emblem was a silver-colored bow arrow aiming NE surrounded by a bronze edge and set against a black background.

"Well… Here I am."

The teen reached a large circle – shaped door: he waved the right hand and the two halves of the circle slid in opposite directions soundlessly.

"It's time to meet my Lord." He muttered.

He stepped into a new vast and round-shaped room: the room's floor was made of purple-colored square tiles.

The walls had red-colored lines and shapes drawn into them.

A round door marked the only entrance and exit, set on the south wall.

There was no ceiling and the room was exposed to a purple-tinted sky with some clouds flying across it at a constant speed thus leaving some clear spots.

The only object on the room was a black onyx throne with four steps climbing up into it: two arms funded in large black leather gloves could be seen resting on its armrests.

The teen walked until he reached the steps and kneeled.

"Good evening, Sidier." A youthful man's voice greeted.

"Emperor S – sama. Command me." The youth known as Sidier calmly replied.

"It's finally time to start the little experiment we spoke about a few days ago… I've been working on the data you'll need. Further instructions are written inside of it. Ah. You should know that the program I installed into you will allow you to come "outside" of this place. You will need to equip it to any data you may use to be able to interact safely with the environment." The person known as Emperor S explained.

"I understand." Sidier acknowledged.

"Good! By the way… You must not come out into the open: that'd ruin the grace. We'll instead place the blame on SOME very plausible scapegoats, ya see. Heh, heh, heh, heh…"

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir. This is a trial to test my skills and my intelligence. I won't fail Emperor S – sama." Sidier announced while lowering his head.

"I know you won't, Sidier. Remember to keep one gateway active and ready to be able to come back here anytime. You'll report to me in person: I don't want to risk it by having our communication lines intercepted by those parties. It'll be safer this way." Emperor S commanded with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Roger."

"Heh, heh, heh. Those guys will soon start to sweat like a Star Destroyer was orbiting around their heads and ready to bombard everything with its orbital lasers. It'll be fun to see, I daresay!" Emperor S chuckled again and sounded amused.

"Eh… Do excuse me, my Lord, but… Will it be really possible to keep our existence hidden? From what I've been briefed, the parties we're going to stir up are very powerful…" Sidier seemed to have his doubts.

"Don't worry, Sidier! They'll fall for the disguise and blame the scapegoats for it: I can assure you. They'll even begin to look under each pebble in the whole nation…! Heh, heh, heh…!" Emperor S didn't sound concerned in the very least.

"I understand, sir. Well then… When am I supposed to start the operation, Emperor S – sama? I think now it's a good moment given their lowered guard status."

"Yeah. Now's a perfect moment to do that. Something tells me it's going to be an amusing hide-and-seek chase 'round the corner. They'll end up looking at the stars and trying to see the future in there. Heh, heh, heh, heh… Ah. But, before that, the 501st Legion will come and sweep the ground with 'em standing on it." Emperor S joked.

"The 501st Legion… I know they were one of the most feared troop units given their role on the closing stages of the conflict… I have been researching, my Lord, and I found this much out.." Sidier muttered while slowly forming a smile.

"The _Clone Wars_, you mean to say! Tee, heh, heh." A girl's voice rang out.

A person wearing a black cloak and a hood hiding the face stepped into the room: they had a purple musical note drawn on the tunic's chest area.

She seemed to be around a meter and sixty tall.

"Come on! Don't pester our newbie, H – chan!" A man's voice could be heard close by, too.

A fourth person stepped in: they wore the same kind of tunic as well and the hood hid its face, too.

Its emblem was two Alphabet S letters with a slight inclined segment originating at the end of it: both were colored purple and set parallel to each other.

A small vertical rectangle was placed in the space between the start of each symbol.

"Lemme be the star of the show, B!" The girl told him.

"You two… I thought you were sleeping." Emperor S muttered.

"S! Cha start up the new show and don't ring us up: you can be mean when cha want to." H told him.

"He ain't mean, H – chan! He surely thought it wasn't worth enough to bang in our doors to wake us up at 8 in the evening." B argued.

"Ah. H – dono and B – dono… Good evening." Sidier bowed.

"Tee, heh, heh. Our _Sengoku Samurai_ strikes back: he'll score the critical goal in the next Oosaka Birds VS Kyoto Lions match!" H giggled and sounded amused.

"Please…" B sounded skeptical.

"Oh. Sidier! Have cha been to Tatooine yet?" H teased.

"Why should I?" Sidier politely asked.

"'Cause then you're old-fashioned: that's why! Tee, heh, heh." H giggled aloud.

"Don't mind H – chan, Sider: she's teasing you." Emperor S grumbled.

"I just came up with a cool motto just for ya Sidier – chan… Wanna have a preview?" H told him.

"Ah… Eh… Thank you very much." Sidier improvised.

"Sidier. _Mazokuchou_ Sidier." H announced.

"Demon Tribe Chief… The whole motto sounds like a corruption of 007's "Bond, James Bond"..." B grumbled.

"Tee, heh, heh. B is always totally cultured: he's gonna draw the blaster and fry a mosquito while saying "sorry for the mess!" to the bartender, I'd daresay." H giggled yet again.

"You mean _Han Solo_ and I'm not 'im." B drily replied.

"Oh come on… H – chan… Do you plan on teasing us for the whole evening or what? Sidier has a job to do." Emperor S sounded slightly impatient.

"Oh? And I was gonna have him practice "a – le – le" to put those vocal chords of him to test… Ain't that right, _cutie_?" H muttered before teasing Sidier.

Sidier turned deep red while B sighed in defeat and H giggled.

"Look how honest he is! A girl telling him he's cute turns him red and nervous! I should've expected it: physically and mentally he's just 13 years old and must be on the onset!" H exposed.

"Yeah. We knew that: thank you very much." B drily replied with a hint of annoyance.

"B… It'd seem you're eager to go for it, too." H sounded like she was up to something.

"I'm not. Can't you be serious? Or do ya wanna play Princess Leia?" B grumbled.

"Nope. But you love playing Han Solo." H countered.

"I don't." B quickly replied.

"You two… Will you leave for another moment? I haven't finished briefing Sidier yet." Emperor S sighed.

"We're in a rush to catch the Paddington 3:33 PM express train and witness a murder, then?" H joked.

"Very funny!" B told her with some annoyance on his voice.

"Whatever…! Sidier: all instructions are in the data. Work on assembling it ASAP: it's gotta be ready by tomorrow. Come see me once all preparations are done: I'll assign targets to you. The point of it will be to collect data on fighting abilities: we'll then start the 2nd Stage. Gotcha?" Emperor S told him.

"Yes, sir. Acknowledged."

Emperor S snapped his right hand's fingers and a large server-like machine became visible while a Time Space anomaly formed as well: it was a purple shining spheroid with grayish mass set on the middle of its body.

"Keep that gateway hidden but use it to return anytime. You'll need to energize it up with your default weapon." Emperor S commanded.

"Eh… How can I move that large machine…?" Sidier slowly asked.

"Don't worry: leave it to me." Emperor S replied.

He snapped his fingers again: it hovered some centimeters over the ground and then entered the gateway to disappear inside of it.

"Whoa." Sidier whistled in surprise.

"Tee, heh, heh. S! Ya copied Yoda's motto: _"size does not matter"_ and pretended to be an expert Force user?" H giggled.

"Maybe I agree with you on this one, H – chan." B muttered.

"You're rather cooled off as of late… You've been diving too much in Venus' Lagoon, I'd say! Tee, heh, heh." H told him.

"No. I'm serious." B grumbled.

"We aren't all gonna quarrel over that, right?" Emperor S questioned with a hint of suspicion.

"'Course not… I'm just teasing the bad boys… Back when you two snuck into the sports equipment storeroom to…" H began.

"No! No need to keep on!" Both gasped.

"Huh? The sports equipment storeroom…?" Sidier wondered.

"Tee, heh, heh. I have some deadly aces up my sleeves. And I'd say Rocky will soon beat all of his wrestling adversaries." H sounded amused.

"Get moving, Sidier. I'll settle this somehow." Emperor S grumbled.

"Yes, sir. Good evening. I shall be going." Sidier bowed.

He snapped his right hand's fingers and a red mantle-like cloth formed over his body.

The mantle covered the upper torso from the front and reached towards the waist from the rear: it was decorated with two golden diamonds which were the origin of string made of gray and hollow horizontal diamonds.

This cloth was tall enough to almost hide his head when seen from behind and the interior had yellow and gray patterns drawn into its body.

"Now you look like a European Middle Ages buffoon, Sidier – chan… Tee, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh!" H giggled.

"H – chan… That's a serious thing." Emperor S grumbled.

"More serious than a poker face, cha mean to say? S – chan?" H didn't sound like she was going to give up that behavior anytime soon.

"Please…" B grumbled.

"Goodbye." Sidier bowed.

He headed over to the gateway and jumped inside: it then shrunk and became a simply disc-shaped purple rotating mass.

"There goes our brave cutie. Now… Let's get down to business. My new live song starts _now_!" H announced.

"Damn." Both men muttered.

H materialized a purple-colored guitar and purposely tuned it so that it produced a loud ear-piercing sound.

"Ahem, ahem… _When the Sun sets and the Moon comes out it's when the owls fly out and eat mice~! Tee, heh, heh!"_

"Shit."

"_But the grave keeper prefers drinking his cheap second-rate_ sake _to having to patrol the cemetery each long and creepy night! The punks go there and set up a party which lasts 'till dawn comes up and the temple's _gong _rings out to signal the start of the day~! Then the Hammer Men show up and there's blood n' guts 'round the area~! Tee, heh, heh! Blow 'em up with a firework rocket and bring the _Budweiser_ out as lure~!_" She sang.

Both men covered their ears while seemingly trying to endure: H placed some more ear-piercing sounds during the song as if to keep them awake or paying attention.

"… _But Mr. Universe bothered to come out of his rusty coffin to yell at 'em to take the party elsewhere and let the dead rest in peace~! The punks got so scared that they decided not to drink _Budweiser _ever again in life~! But it ain't over yet: the zombies crept out and began the _Biohazard_ 'cause one of the punks was an Umbrella researcher who dropped a _T-Virus _vial over there~! They then fortified the place and burnt it up with Napalm like in the Vietnam War to purify the place~! Tee, heh, heh! And then everyone gave out crocodile-shaped chocolates for St. Valentine's 'cause it was a fashionable mania~! A~h! It was Chaos in person who pulled the strings behind the scenes as usual: it was to be expected from the guy~! Bring out the 7__th__ Cavalry Division: they're going to swipe the forest with all trees standing on it with the "Charge~!" yell! Tee, heh, heh! And 'cause Ms. Perfect wanted it, the tale ended up there_~!"

She finally stopped: both men sighed in relief and sounded like it'd been a nightmare.

"Well?" She asked.

"You're gonna sweep all those _amateurs_ in Operation: Triumph's next season…" B grumbled.

"Yeah… And blow up all of the studio's microphones, too…"

"Perfect! Tee, heh, heh. Let's go say hi to the Fashioned Sisters Club and blow their cheap make-up into bits and bytes!" H teased.

"You came up with the name out of the blue." B groaned.

"Yeah. Go read the _Deathly Hallows_ and leave us alone if you may, H – chan!" Emperor S grumbled.

"Good idea! I'll go for my third reading: it's breath-taking! Tee, heh, heh, heh!"

H turned on her feet and stepped out of the room while both men sighed in relief.

"What a Friday evening!" B cursed.

"Yeah… H – chan is a hyperactive person: there's no doubt about it. And she can have weird manias, too." Emperor S sighed in defeat.

"Anyway… I'm sure Sidier will do fine. He has potential." B switched topics and shrugged.

"Sure thing, B, sure thing… I wouldn't have charged him with that if I didn't have confidence on his abilities from the very start. I'd say he'll be doing some fencing in the free moments: he could end up being good at swords, too." Emperor S switched to an amused mood.

"That sounds more like you, Skywalker."

"Oi, oi… Playing with my initials again…?" Emperor S protested.

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Will you go spar with your companions, Bond?" Emperor S joked and returned the earlier joke.

"Sure. I'll make sure to have my Walter PPK7 hidden under the tuxedo and a scout knife as a backup, Snake." B joked next.

"Not again…" Emperor S groaned in defeat.

"Heh, heh, heh… I'm gonna go read _A Study in Scarlet_… My blood's boiling to feel the nerve and suspense which comes with it… And remember to ring up Dr. Watson for your anti-boredom medicine, Sherlock." B chuckled and improvised a joke.

"Then go direct the Tokyo Symphonic Orchestra, Baton – sama!" Emperor S challenged.

"_Bye – bye_, Spider Man!"

B ran off laughing aloud while Emperor S sighed in defeat.

"Man. The Nickname War has started again. There's no end to it! I'm about to lose my patience." He grimly muttered.

He seemingly stretched and articulated his arms before he brought up a holographic screen displaying some info.

"No big deal out there… But we'll soon make headlines: it's obvious that what will happen won't go unnoticed! Heh, heh, heh. I'm going to enjoy this experience." Emperor S muttered with a hint of amusement.

He then switched to a world map and attached some red stickers around some spots it as if to signal some places: he then looked up a list of addresses and seemed to check the stickers' emplacement.

"Yeah. These will do fine. We'll make a first round and then slowly bring out some extra roster. I already got the consent of the Tribe Chiefs to do this, so… No problems. Our beloved public… Enjoy the onset of this half-thrilling half-dull show I'm going to stage for… And we shall prove our power to the world!" Emperor S eagerly exclaimed.

"To the Silly World!" H's voice rang out through a speaker.

"Grah! Not again! You set that thing there in purpose!"

"Because Purpose Woman told me to~!"

"Purpose Woman…! Pit them against Wonder Woman!"

"Sure, Billy~!"

"Tell that to B!"

"Sure, Santa~! Bring me a book on _dominatrix_ by Christmas!"

_Oh man! That girl…! She's not really into _dominatrix_: she's just teasing around! Whatever the ever! My plan is perfect! Heh, heh! Heh, heh!_


	2. Chapter 1: Michelangelo's Debut

**Chapter 1: Michelangelo's debut**

17:08 PM (Japan Time), Saturday December the 15th…

"… This is Unit 4, Beta Company: reporting from Sector K – 34. The area has been cleared of enemy presence, Command!"

"CF" Netto was standing in the middle of a ruined plaza in a city somewhere: the plaza was filled with remains of a large battle as evidenced by the broken windows, dents on the skyscraper's facades, craters on the ground, small fires burning there and there, barricades and data remains.

"Unit 4, Beta Company: we have received intelligence that the enemy is concentrating on its HQ. Unfortunately… It is protected by two shield generators. You will need to use a fighter vehicle to destroy both of them." An automated voice replied.

"Roger. Where do I find the vehicle?" "CF" Netto asked.

"It will be deployed in your current position in about three minutes."

"Roger, Command. Unit 4, Beta Company, over."

"CF" Netto finished the communication and began to pace around, Rock Buster on hand: he found some Viruses and took them out while he waited for the vehicle and whistled _Let It Be_.

_We cannot complain, huh? It's been almost four months ever since the last battle with Twilight and "Neo Gospel", and, apart from some "run-and-hit" strikes the survivors have done… Nothing really big has happened. Twilight must be bidding his time. _Netto commented to Saito.

_Yeah. And I'm sure we'll clear the first trimester of 2__nd__ grade with good marks, too. I'm looking forward to have a break._

"CF" Netto's radio set crackled to life and a voice could be heard along with shouts and explosions which filled the background.

"Hikari - kun? Saito - kun? It's me: Blood. I'm disposing of some defense turrets which would stop ya two from reaching the second generator!"

Some yelling could be heard on the other end of the line along with the sound of gunfire.

"… Swallow Cutter!"

"… Gah! Die already! Ya useless bird! As ya two can hear… I'm pretty busy in here! Ya two better go and deal with the first generator!" The voice told them.

"Roger that, Blood Shadow! Good luck!" "CF" Netto replied with a smile and looked amused.

"Thank you! Ah! And…!" Blood Shadow didn't get to finish.

"Swallow Drive!"

There were more explosions and yells on the background: it looked like the owner of the voice was in the middle of quite a fray.

"… Ya never know when to give up! Do ya? Persistent idiots… I said it… Die already!"

_It looks like Blood's busy, Netto – kun!_

_Yeah, Saito – niisan. I'm glad not to be in his position right now._

The small shuttle finally arrived.

It was clearly aerodynamic and measured ten meters long and eight tall: it had two short wings on the sides and a tail while a Plexiglas window was set on the front.

A small hatch on the right side allowed entrance: it had no visible propulsion system.

"Heh, heh! Cool."

"CF" Netto unlocked the hatch and entered the small cabin which was slightly reminiscent of that of a plane: there was a pilot's seat and two passenger seats: "CF" Netto sat down on the pilot's seat and plucked the seatbelt.

_Don't forget 'bout Mr. Seatbelt, Netto – kun!_

"Let's see… Weapons systems: lasers, machine guns, missiles and plasma beams… O.K.! Let's go towards the first generator." He muttered as he read one screen's display.

He spotted a large vertical brown-colored stone tower covered by a powerful energy shield after two minutes of flight: the generator was placed nearby and was shaped like a dome with an antenna.

"O.K.! Weapons mode: missiles. Lock on target… Fire!"

"CF" Netto punched a green button on the control panel and a small hatch opened on the underside of the vehicle: a small missile launcher with five missiles came out and it tilted until it reached the desired angle: it shot a volley of five missiles towards the generator which exploded into smithereens: the shield around the tower flickered.

"One down." He grinned.

"Hikari - kun? Saito - kun? It's me again. I'm dealing with the second turret and…!"

A big explosion could be heard on the background.

"Oops. I overdid it… In any case… The two turrets are gone, so… Go and blow that second generator. I'm heading for the HQ."

"Good hunting, Blood!" "CF" Netto replied with a smile.

"Thanks, ya two. See ya there!" Blood Shadow replied.

"Computer: lock on second target." "CF" Netto ordered.

"Affirmative."

"Weapons mode: plasma beams."

They soon reached the second generator: "CF" Netto could see two smoke spirals coming from both the west and the east of the structure: they obviously indicated the spots where the turrets had been at.

"Huh… Blood sure did a good job… Anyway… No time to sit idle watching the landscape… Fire!" He muttered.

Two hatches opened on the sides of the vehicle's front and two long cylinders shot reddish beams towards the generator, thus melting its armor and overheating it causing it to explode, too.

"Command! This is Unit 4, Beta Company: the generators have fallen. I'm going to join Unit 3, Beta Company, on assaulting the HQ."

"Roger, Unit 4, Beta Company."

"CF" Netto landed the shuttle on top of the tower: he could already hear explosions and shouts on the inside: a steel door marked the only entry or exit.

"Looks like the party's already started. Let's go in!" He announced.

He kicked the door open with his right foot and descended a curving stone ramp: he took out a Long Sword and leaned against the wall next to a largely unlit corridor: sure enough, the yells grew louder, and Cut Man came into view, running for his life.

_Heh, heh! Eat this!_

"CF" Netto let him run past him and he impaled him from behind.

"KYA~H!" He yelled in agony before blowing up.

"BURN!" A voice yelled.

"CF" Netto dodged Burner Man's Burning Jet with ease by jumping back.

"Taste this, Darkloid! Dynamic Wave!"

He spun around his own axis at a quick speed and formed four blue waves which hit Burner Man: he roared before being destroyed and turned into a thousand bits.

"Where is thy honor, grunt?" Yamato Man demanded as he tried to impale him with his spear.

"Well… As if I cared, ya see… Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! DREAM SWORD!"

"That's…!" Yamato Man sounded taken aback.

He didn't get to finish as the Dream Sword cut him in half.

"Three down. Let's go and find some more." "CF" Netto commented with a hint of amusement.

_Yeah. But I think we should increase the level of Yamato Man. He's one of the "Neo Gospel" survivors after all so we don't want to take the guy too lightly if we stumble upon him._

_Oh! True. We'll talk with Vadous – san once this VR is over. _

He dashed forward and reached a wide square-shaped stone chamber lit by torches: Snake Man was giving him the back and shouting orders to other Darkloids out of his sight further inside the room.

"Grrr… The damned Red Demon must not be allowed through! We must stop him no matter what! Don't mind it if not even a single one of you grunts is left! Get it!" He was ordering.

"… Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…! Oi! Darkloids! Here comes the cavalry…! Samurai Sword, Slot In!" "CF" Netto yelled.

"Who the….!"

Snake Man glared towards his back but wasn't able to react in time as "CF" Netto cut the Darkloid horizontally in two pieces by severing his waist.

"GROA~H!" He roared as he was blown to smithereens.

The other Darkloids (Cloud Man, Blizzard Man and Plant Man) turned towards him.

"You can't hope to take all of us down! I'll turn you into nutrients for my flower garden! I'll make you mine and only mine! Come to my side, you charming boy~!" Plant Man stated.

"Stop with your weird tentacle stuff! I prefer rolling the guy over and then freezin' 'im!" Blizzard Man yelled.

"Step away! You meaningless grunt! This one is mine and I'll dispose of it with 100,000 DC Volts!" Cloud Man proclaimed.

"Too late! Elemental Cyclone!"

A green tornado made up of thousands of leaves spinning around its body appeared while coming out of a large doorway and hit the three Darkloids fully: they were deleted and became a myriad of bits and bytes: these soon dispersed as well.

"Hiya!" A voice greeted.

The tornado dissolved to reveal a Navi.

He was about the same height as "CF" Netto so he was close to a meter and sixty tall: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades and a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

"Hikari – kun & Saito – kun. Ya two did a good job blasting those generators. But that was the easy part." The newcomer smiled.

"Yeah. We already guessed you were having troubles with the Darkloids in charge of defending the turrets." "CF" Netto smiled.

"This is Command. You have neutralized the Darkloids. Good job. That'll be all for today."

The room they were in was suddenly replaced by a "cybernetic" environment: all they could see were circuitry boards and energy pathways heading towards a round white portal.

"Let's go~!"

They "flew" towards the phenomenon and the whole environment became white.

"Woho~!"

When the light cleared both of them were standing inside of a cubical room the whole volume of which was covered by a matrix of green squares against a black background: an almost invisible Dimensional Area could be seen set between them and the matrix.

"Back home~!" "CF" Netto grinned.

A holographic screen displaying the results popped out:

VR TRAINING

LEVEL: 5

CLASS: B

NUMBER: 12 OF 20

TIME: 10:34

RANK: B

USERS: BLOOD SHADOW, H. NETTO, ROCK MAN EXE

HAVE A NICE DAY!

The Dimensional Area faded and Netto reversed out of Cross Fusion: he picked his Link PET and placed it on its spot.

"… Phew! This one WAS challenging. It was good to heat up. It's so cold down there that I was almost freezing!"

"Yeah. We needed some burning passion." Saito added as he projected using the holographic display.

"Good job, guys." Blood Shadow patted him on the back.

"Thanks, Blood!"

A loud alarm started to blare and they all looked around, surprised.

"Code M. Code M. All personnel report to MR. Repeat: Code M. Code M. All personnel report to MR." An automated voice warned.

"…"Code M"? What's that, Blood?" Netto asked.

"Dunno… It's my first time hearing it. Let's go outside: maybe Boss knows what it means." Blood Shadow replied while sounding unsure.

They ran outside of the VR Room and into a curved metallic corridor which had some metallic arches set every a few hundred meters, more or less: the ceiling contained fluorescent tubes which provided the illumination and several armored and labeled doors could be seen showing up at either side of the corridor.

"Huff, huff!"

A man came running towards them from the right: he looked on his mid – twenties, had messy jet black hair and red eye irises.

He wore a grayish armor made of several plates joined together of an unknown material and two swords sheaths were attached to his black belt.

His arms and legs were also covered in plating and he had boots and gloves of the same material.

A purple ragged, stained and torn cape hung from the back of the shoulders and reached all the way to the floor.

He stopped to recover his breath.

"Boss! What does "Code M" mean?" Blood Shadow asked.

"I can't remember right now… MR… MR… Damn it! Why didn't I put the full name instead of the initials?" The man growled and sounded exasperated.

"Boss! Let's hurry it up! We won't make it on time!" Another man ran towards them.

He had black hair and brown eye irises: his age was aobut the same as the "Boss" guy.

He wore a medic's coat with the ID "Dr. Kazimura Lartes" written on it and sported brown pants plus shoes.

He also had a pair of reading glasses on, too.

"We won't make it on time? What do you mean, Lartes?" "Boss" frowned and didn't seem to the point of the rush.

"Have you forgotten what "Code M" means, Boss? Remember Michelangelo?" Lartes asked in an exasperated mannter.

"CRAP! MICHELANGELO! QUICK! LET'S GET TO THE THIRD DECK!" The man gasped and commanded.

Netto and Blood Shadow ran after the two of them.

"Vadous – san! Who is Michelangelo? Why did you never introduce him to us?" Netto politely asked as he ran alongside them.

"I'll explain later! Truth is: I'd forgotten about the guy!" He yelled back while looking nervous.

"Code M. Code M. All personnel report to MR." The automatic voice announced.

"Yeah, Black Ace! You needn't tell us twice! We're not deaf!" Vadous yelled.

"Boss… Black Ace can't catch sarcasm!" Lartes muttered with a hint of annoyance.

They entered an elevator and Vadous pressed the button labeled "3rd DECK": the elevator climbed and they exited into another curved corridor just like the one they'd been running down before.

"Huff. The club's gathered: they obviously have better memory than I do to begin with!"

They spotted several individuals in front of a half-open armored door.

One of them was a Net Navi about two meters tall and colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area.

This spheroid seemed to be missing the armor over its mass.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand which was easily over a meter tall.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"That's Sigma, yeah…"

There was a second Navi standing there too.

This second Navi was about one meter and eighty tall.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed calm and concentration while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

"Omega…"

The third present was a man sporting a similar armor to that of Vadous and being about his and Lartes' age.

His hair was neatly combed and blond in color while his eyes' irises were emerald green.

Like Vadous, he sported armor over his body which had a purple Alphabet "K" letter as its chest emblem plus a sword sheath.

"Kir Osh, the mechanic…"

The last two persons were two _ninjas_ who were very similar in look, appearance and age.

One had brown hair and blue eye irises: he had a small cut on the SW corner of his chin which looked recent.

His clothes were a plain black wool sweater, wool pants, socks and sandals plus a red & brown _katana_ sheath which had a leather band spanning from the left shoulder to the right side of the body.

He had a purple Alphabet "D" letter hand-drawn on the middle of his chest as if identifying him.

"Daratsu…"

The second _ninja_ had blond hair and brown eyes instead and could be four to five centimers taller than this pal.

His clothes had a ligther color to them but kept on being black: his _katana_ sheath was brown and blue instead and the leather band was brown instead of green.

The characters drawn on his chest read "K2" instead.

"Kuro Kaze…! The whole club, huh…!"

"Boss! Do I go in?" Kir Osh asked.

Netto glanced at a banner on the door which read "MICHELANGELO'S ROOM" yet the room itself was totally unlit.

"Mugra-ga-ga-ga~h!" Someone yelled.

"Damn it. Go in. I dunno what's going on!" Vadous growled.

"Let's go!"

Kir Osh ran in and immediately raced for a control panel set on a handrail four meters inside: the panel was not set in a straight line but about 30 cm to the right of the entrance: he flipped up a switch and the fluorescent lights came in.

"Whoa!"

The room was revealed to be a cubical compartment having a main platform four meters tall by twelve wide.

This first space had two handrails circling the perimeter of the square platform floating over a swirling mass of bluish water: two flights of metallic stairs thirteen steps each descended to two rubber-made piers about thee meters long and one wide: they seemed to be anchored to the bottom of the water using steel wires.

"This is… the "pool"…? Ah! Look! Niisan! The RAY!"

"Whoa! True!"

A machine had been placed against the furthest wall (about twelve meters from the entrance door) and was half-submerged on the water which seemed to be about two meters below the platform.

This machine had a general "humanoid" shape but it was over five meters tall, maybe even ten.

Their main color was a dull brown titanium type and they had two large "arms" and "legs" which were now widely spread.

The "head" had a "mouth" which rather looked like a beak and two bluish "eyes" on the sides of it which seemingly allowed it to see.

There also was a tail extending behind the body and reaching until the water as well.

It was currently placed in a crouched position and the arms had been lowered parallel to the body and partly submerged on the water.

"MUGRYA~H!"

"Grawlug!"

There was an explosion somewhere in the water and a shape could be seen circling around at mad speed: Kir Osh cursed something and took out the armor over his right hand to press it against a scanner: his palm was scanned and one LED on the control panel turned green: he quickly pressed a button labeled "RECALL – PIER 1" and headed towards the leftwards pier.

"What the heck happened?" Netto wondered.

"Dunno."

They gasped when they saw that the "shape" was a grayish shark having reddish eyes yet it looked very crude and simplistic: an engine whine could be heard too as the shark stopped next to the pier where Kir Osh was at: he tapped on the fin and it sounded metallic and hollow: he suddenly opened it up and extracted a Flash memory storage card from a compartment inside.

"We'll have to go over the data it's recorded. Let's hope 4 years of doing nothing and the water processing plant's chemicals haven't done anything to the integrity of its core module… Michelangelo! Luckily I remembered about the guy but since protocol mandated that you should come first before I turned it off…!" Kir Osh grumbled.

"Damn my own lame imagination!" Vadous slapped his forehead.

"That's Michelangelo? A robot shark? Why the heck do you keep this thing around?" Netto asked.

"It's our old anti-intruder system…"

"THAT's an anti-intruder system?" Saito gasped.

"Wait a min! If Michelangelo's IR cameras detect that whatever fell into the water is organic then it just circles around: this water's buoyancy has been increased so you don't sink on it… I guessed whatever fell was a Navi or a Darkloid hence why they attacked them… I didn't think of it back then so… Jeez."

"Four years livin' 'ere and we never knew we had a pet." Sigma muttered.

_And we thought that Yaito – chan had weird security systems… Wait until I tell her about this one and she'll beg to her Papa to install an identical one in the swimming pool…_ Netto sarcastically told Saito.

_It wouldn't surprise me. And I hope that her Papa actually tells Yaito – chan that he won't approve of such system. I'm sure the lawn mowers must be terrific enough as they are and there's no need for anything else to be installed… _Saito added.

_She's too much of a spoiled girl. Her Papa should tell 'er that she can't have everything she wants to. _Netto sighed.

"So? What do we do?" Omega asked.

"Check this guy's memory data and the room's surveillance IR camera's data too… If it still works, that is…"

"Jeez." Lartes fumed.

"I know! I'm to blame! I should've written "whoever gets here first must stop Michelangelo and figure out who's the intruder"…"

"And if you say it was a Darkloid or a Net Navi…" Netto muttered.

"Yeah. Them. The "Neo Gospel" survivors… Freeze Man, Cosmo Man, Swallow Man, Cloud Man & Yamato Man… Maybe Twilight provided them data about this place and they sent an expendable scout to check it out or cause some ruckus to destroy our feeling of safety by saying "hah, there's no safe place" or something like that. Remember! We still dunno if Twilight really blew up back in August or it was a "bunshin"… And let's not forget about their conspirator… "KO"…! I'm eager to smoke them out and find who they are behind that string of blind alleys they set around the Cyber World…!" Vadous grumbled.

"So they're finally going to get serious instead of going for "hit-and-run" all across the globe…" Saito narrowed his eyes.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Let them come! _Aibou_ and I will smack them up and send them to the recycle bin!"

"You shut up." Omega snapped.

"Yikes! Commander Omega, sir…!"

"Jeez. You're too loud, Sigma." Blood Shadow protested.

"So? Wanna do it tonight?" Sigma grinned.

"No. And that's an ultimatum."

"Let's go, you guys! Today's gonna be one of those long days…! Shit!"


	3. Chapter 2: Mass attacks

**Chapter 2: Mass attacks**

17:52 PM (Japan Time), Saturday December the 15th…

"… So. Now we gotta wait."

"Yeah. They're compiling the data."

Netto was sitting down in a chair placed inside of a bare-looking meeting room the walls of which were metallic.

The room was square in shape and was illuminated by fluorescent tubes: it only had one armored entry/exit door.

The only furniture was some wooden chairs and a metallic table with an integrated keyboard, mouse, USB ports and a CD tray on it.

A holographic projector was placed on the middle of the table's surface.

Lartes and Kir Osh were also sitting in chairs while the Navis were standing around the table: Daratsu and Kro Kaze leant their backs on the walls.

"Alright. Sorry to keep you waiting…"

Vadous entered and he carried a rewritable CD case on his right hand: he inserted it into the CD tray and a holographic display activated which played IR imagery of Michelangelo's "Room": the door slowly opened and someone entered in a slow and careful manner as if checking that there wasn't anything odd there: the camera stopped and zoomed on the intruder when they turned to look behind them.

"Have a look." Vadous told them.

The intruder was a Navi which be around a meter and seventy tall.

His face was colored golden and he had bluish irises on his eyes: greenish armor formed over the head and then extended in the form of a triangle down his face and nose.

Golden curved armor with spikes protruding from the underside was sculptured over his neck, shoulders and torso and it had a decreasing moon drawing there.

The arms' skin was purple and two small-model moon boomerangs hovered over the forearms: a black bracelet with metallic dots on it surrounded the wrist: his hands' skin was red.

Golden armor covered the flanks of his body and a small-model moon piece of armor crossed over his central purplish body to connect both halves of the armor which ended around the hip: another pair of moon-cutters hovered over them.

The knees had two white dots above and below each connected by thin stripes and forming a trapeze shape: the rear edge was colored golden and so were his soils and part of the feet.

A greenish diamond was set over the feet and a moon-cutter hovered before each ankle.

The intruder walked towards the handrail, tripped with it, and fell into the water: Michelangelo ran towards him and started to eat him: Vadous shut down the imagery replaying to everyone's relief.

"I dunno from where this jerk came from or who he is. I found out how he managed to intrude and settled it was a new type of Darkloid..."

"How did the guy?"

"This guy somehow got inside using various sub – circuits and he then materialized somehow while avoiding the IPS all along. And I smell who's responsible for this." He grumbled.

"We said it before: the "Neo Gospel" survivors!" Netto fumed.

"It has to be them." Saito grumbled.

"By the way… Is Dragon deaf? He didn't come out of the kitchen 30 minutes ago when the alarm went off." Lartes frowned.

"Knowing the bloke he surely thought it was some kind of drill and did not think it was serious." Daratsu ventured with a shrug of his shoulders.

"In any case… I've upgraded the security measures. Any Navi who is not registered will be met with a nightmare once the IPS is triggered."

"What… A slaughtering buzz saw?" Sigma joked.

"Sigma…" Omega directed a serious glare at him.

"I apologize, Commander Omega! I was trying to make a joke…" Sigma quickly apologized.

"Jeez. We don't slaughter anyone but evil Darkloids." Blood Shadow didn't find it humorous, either.

"The IPS will warn Black Ace and a "maze" program will be activated: the intruder will have it hard to run away because it won't be able to fly out, either." Vadous explained.

"Oh… I see. And then Sigma and the others can run inside and corner the intruder, then?" Netto guessed.

"Something like that would be useful to avoid so many attacks on the Science Labs, really!" Saito commented as he "sat" on Netto's right shoulder.

"Yeah. I agree with you, Rock Man. Maybe I'll convince Boss to smuggle you guys a copy." Omega grinned at him.

"Count on it! Besides… I've also decided on the following regarding active security systems to be installed: one such system would be setting password-triggered firewalls to slow or impede access along with redundant ACLs…" Vadous began explaining.

"And Crossing Lines!" Sigma made up a silly name.

"Sigma…!" A twitch formed over his right eye.

"…and thus the eternally flowing aura of evil intention has penetrated the Sacred Boundary of the Great Balance God…" Someone could be heard muttering aloud in English close by.

"Jeez. Dragon and his weird kilometric speeches: he forgot some ingredient for his weird receipts and is gonna fetch it… When will the guy land back on Earth?" Daratsu sighed.

"Dunno! They drive me mad, their mottoes and their receipts…!"

06:08 AM (Arkansas Time)…

"… Brrr… What cold!"

A man was standing in front of a warehouse the door of which was open: various open Jeeps were parked inside.

The man was holding an AK – 74 and patrolling around.

Snow covered most of the area and a harsh cold wind blew through the area: the skies were still pitch black and covered by clouds.

He wore gray military attire with a small emblem on the right side of the torso: a black stain inside of a white circle.

He also sported a balaclava and seemed to be on his thirties.

Another soldier walked over to him and they both took out the balaclavas: one of them rummaged on his pants' left pocket and took out a cigarette box.

He took one out and then searched his right pocket: he grumbled.

"Hey! Joe! Do ya have fire?" He asked in English.

"Yeah, Sam. Here: have some." Joe replied, also in English.

The other soldier took out a lighter and ignited Sam's cigarette: he then ignited one for himself while Sam exhaled smoke.

"Man! The central heating system in the garage is a hoax. It doesn't heat up at all and ye freeze to death every winter." He complained.

"You're right… Man! Why couldn't we light a camp fire to heat up? Some fire would help us greatly." Joe suggested.

"Buruo~! You want flames? Buruo~!" An unknown voice speaking in Japanese exclaimed close by.

A Navi suddenly came into view: they were over three meters tall and had a basis which was a two-legged ox and their main color was purple.

His face was shaped like an ox's: his eyes' irises were red in color.

Three small needles protruded from their forehead, and two horns colored black emerged at the sides: instead of a mouth he had a partial cubical prism protruding out of it with three thin round prisms packed up inside of it: the lower edge was unarmored and exposed.

His chest was big and protruded outwards: partial armor covered the flanks: it had three air outlets and an orange edge while the central body was unarmored and colored red: a small yellow drawing reminiscent of the Horoscope symbol for "Ox" was set on the middle.

Reddish armor covered the shoulders and his arms' skin was black: his forearms had red cylinders as armor and some orange triangles were packed in a row along their upper band: their fingers' skin was gray.

The legs were unarmored until the knees where two simple armor plates colored red and with a white protruding needle had been built at: his feet were shaped like a real ox's too.

"Buruo~! I am Ox Fire! I'll burn you guys!" He roared.

He inhaled and shot out a fiery breath: Sam and Joe ran for it while shooting their machineguns at the enemy: it had no effect.

"Damn! We gotta call the General!" He cursed.

Sam reached an interphone and pressed the button labeled "1": a holographic screen popped out.

"General Hawk, sir!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

The man who showed up on the screen could be on his late 50s and his hair was starting to go white although it still could be seen that his natural color was black: their height could be close to a meter and ninety tall.

His eyes' irises were brownish and he was clean shaven: his nose seemed to have a hawk-like profile to it even.

He wore a grayish military uniform including pants plus a small medal which had a black dot on the center of its round body.

This dot was surrounded by a golden edge: the words "BLACK HOLE" were written using crimson on the edge and repeated twice.

"General, sir! Look! A Net Navi is setting fire there!"

"Buruo~!"

"Che! That's "Neo Gospel"! They didn't have enough in the summer, did they, HUH? THE DAMNED ROADHOGS!"

"W-what do we do?"

"Evacuate! Set barricades! Use flash-bang and stun grenades! I'll call for help in the meanwhile!"

"Roger!"

"… Phew! And, for the moment, that's all for today."

Vadous concluded his speech.

"We'll be going back, then." Netto announced as he stood up.

"Attention. Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Caller ID: General James Hawk." The automated voice announced.

"Patch it through to the phone system in Meeting Room #4!" Vadous ordered.

"Order acknowledged." The automated voice replied.

"Mr. Vadous? This is General Hawk. We have an ongoing incident in our Arkansas facilities!" General Hawk announced in English.

"What's going on, General?" Vadous asked in English.

"A Net Navi is setting fire to my base!"

"Shit! I'll be sending my Navis over there right now! They'll be there in less than two minutes!" Vadous exclaimed while making a grimace.

"Understood! We'll be holding it back in the meanwhile."

"You heard the Boss! Showdown!" Lartes ordered in Japanese.

The three Navis and Lartes ran out at top speed.

"Huff! Let's go to the Command Bridge… The rest of you: return to your posts. I'll handle this." Vadous commanded.

He and Netto quickly ran up the corridor and they soon spotted an armored door labeled "COMMAND BRIDGE": Vadous opened it and both he and Netto stepped into a lift platform which climbed up and inclined shaft: it soon reached the top and they stepped down from it.

"Wow. The Command Bridge…"

This room was shaped like a dome: the ground had the general form of the Hikari emblem although the straight line and the pyramid-like bases were placed at the north and south ends instead of being in the north-west and south-east ends like in Netto's bandana.

There were two half-hexagon spots which had been built such that the ground was thirty centimeters lower and covered in a grid-like material.

The corridor was only wide enough for one person to walk through and it had a small hole from which a rail originated around the middle point of it: it extended forward until it reached the spot where Vadous' armchair (with his emblem painted behind it) was at.

A closed hatch could be seen set on the ceiling directly above this middle spot.

The far end had the control console and the LCD screens from which Vadous controlled the whole HQ and inputs received from the outside: the room had some circular LED lights (like the ones in traffic lights) set on the walls forming figures.

"Black Ace! Bring up Omega's imagery!" He commanded.

Vadous ran up to the armchair and sat down on it: he inputted some commands and one of the LCD screens displayed live imagery from Omega's eyes.

"… Mwah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Burn! Take in my anger's flames!" Ox Fire kept on yelling.

"IT'S OVER!" Sigma roared.

"_Olé, toro_!" Blood Shadow laughed.

"Give it up." Omega ordered.

A purple-colored time-space vortex had opened in front of the garage and the three of them had come out of it before it closed: Ox Fire was now lifting an open Jeep with a mounted machinegun and looking at the newcomers.

"Hah! Here! Catch!"

He laughed as he threw the Jeep at them but they all jumped out of the way in time.

"EAT THIS!"

Sigma jumped in front of him and impaled his big sword through the right side of this torso and it emerged from the back while drawing a groan of pain from him.

"This goes next!"

Blood Shadow took out an Ice Seed and threw it at Ox Fire's feet. He immediately melted it with his breath but he lowered his guard on the process: it proved fatal.

"You're rubbish and I'm sure you've got no interesting data to begin with and you're to be disposed. You're a threat."

Omega jumped in front of him and started a set of combos with both his O – Saber and his O – Buster: Ox Fire exploded before Omega had finished the whole set of combos since Omega had drained his entire HP.

"Phew! We defeated it." Blood Shadow sighed in relief.

"So it'd seem. But… This guy was weak. It's gotta be a teaser." Omega muttered.

"Hmmm…" Vadous seemed to be thinking about it.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Throw more punks at me: I'll blow them up!"

05:27 AM (San Francisco Time)…

CRASH!

"What the…?"

A woman sitting inside of an office suddenly stood up and cursed in English.

She appealed to be on her mid-thirties and over a meter and eighty tall.

She had short smooth black hair and her eyes' irises were green in coloring: her face was smooth but it didn't have a very appealing "profile" either.

She wore a white shirt with a reddish tie and a black knee-long skirts plus stockings and black heeled shoes: a brown leather jacket hung in the chair's backrest too.

A man ran inside of the office.

"President Argad! Ma'am! There's some kind of Phantom of the Opera wannabe wrecking the roof!" The man reported.

"I know how to deal with them." The woman calmly replied as she picked a wireless and dialed a number.

"… Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Caller ID: Jessica Argad."

"WHAT? TWILIGHT! You damned mouse!"

Vadous banged both armrests of his revolving chair: Netto stood behind him with Saito's hologram sitting on his left shoulder.

"Blood was right: it was a teaser." Netto muttered.

"Yeah. Guess so…" Saito lifted his eyebrows.

"Connect it!" Vadous commanded.

"Mr. Vadous? I've got some problems over here!"

"I think I can guess what's happening in there… A Net Navi is causing havoc?" Vadous asked.

"Correct." The woman replied while sounding calmer.

"Where is it?" Vadous asked.

"The roof: it's wrecking the solar panels which we installed barely two months ago... I'm about to explode." The woman grumbled and was obviously annoyed.

Vadous glanced at a countdown in one of the LCD screens.

"COME AT FULL POWER!" Sigma yelled.

"You ought to be in a film, _baka_!" Blood Shadow told him.

"Let's delete it: they're but cannon fodder." Omega simply stated.

"Hah, hah, hah! No! You must fall before my power! Such is the drama that I've written! It's perfect! A perfect drama for me to direct! I am Phantom Black… And you're history!" The guy laughed.

This enemy was over the meter and ninety height mark and he was "humanoid" enough: in fact, he was very reminiscent of the "Phantom of the Opera" character.

His face's skin was also colored in an olive-like color: a partial white mask had been built over his eyes (brown irises) and nose.

Four strings of curly blonde hair came out behind his head.

The upper torso had white decoration over it which looked like part of an evening suit: the rest of the armor was colored in a bluish color and ended at the waist.

His shoulders were dull blue spheroids from which his arms emerged: the elbow gained a yellowish pyramidal object popping out from the top of them and they turned bluish: the cuffs around the wrists were white in color and so were his fingers.

The sides of his legs aiming backwards had some extra bluish armor with a gray edge built there: his legs were unadorned until the knees where his boots began: they had another pyramidal object on their center and ended in a gray band separating the ankles from the feet.

A blackish cape with an inner red coloring spread behind him and he sported a top hat with frontal armor over his head.

He also carried a cane on his right hand colored blue and with side red stripes.

"Wrong. Go!" Omega ordered.

"Take this one! Giga Cannon!"

"Dream Sword!"

"_Bye-bye_."

"NO~!"

"Who sent that guy over here?" Ms. Argad asked.

"Twilight. He's been waiting to laugh at our faces by saying "Try to catch me!" ever since August!" Vadous grumbled.

"Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Called ID: Dr. Pierre Spimer."

"_Messier le doctor_! A Net Navi is attacking your HQ, _oui_?" Vadous guessed while putting up a French accent to his English.

"_Oui_! You're correct!" The caller replied in English using a strong French accent as well.

Dr. Spimer looked on his late twenties or early thirties: he could be over a meter and eighty tall too.

His hair was combed in a neat manner and it was colored in an orange-like coloring while his eyes' irises were blue.

The man currently wore a white lab coat over a shirt, brown pants and shoes and he had reading glasses on.

He was standing next to a wall made of wood and grumbling as shouts rang out.

"It's a rocket with a magnetic sphere below it; colored white, red & blue and having two swords." He described.

"General Hawk and _Madame_ Argad have received attacks just now: Twilight wants to laugh at us." Vadous explained with obvious annoyance.

"It's overcoming the security Navis despite the training Mr. Zero provided in the summer!"

"Shit. So it's cannon fodder for someone like Omega and the others but tough enough to cause trouble. I suspect "KO" and Twilight are working together by now and have come up with those!"

"POWERLESS!"

"Why don't ya go Pluto and never come back, rocky?" Blood Shadow mocked.

"Hmpf. Rubbish." Omega scoffed.

"Wo~! I'm Spade Magnets! I'll obliterate you meaningless Earthlings!"

Spade Magnets was a more machine-like design colored white and being around three meters tall yet they didn't have a lower body.

Their face was gray in color and lacked a nose: the eyes were yellowish and had red irises while a permanent smile was drawn on his face to make it creepier.

The helmet had a central red stripe and a bluish "Spade" drawing had been sketched over it: two black "horns" came out from the sides and aimed upwards.

A cavity had been built around the neck but the rest of the body was protected by white armor: two curious structures colored red and blue were set over his shoulders' spheroids: red and blue armor surrounded the wrists and he had two swords of those same colors drawn.

His lower body was but a black energy sphere with purple electricity frizzling through its mass.

"…"Meaningless Earthlings"? Gimme a break! Go for it!" Omega grumbled and he seemed to form a twitch even.

"Zeta Fumikomi!"

"Zeta Cannon!"

"GORA~H!" The Navi roared as he exploded.

"Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Caller ID: Herr Kount Kamiel Serbauf."

"Herr Vadous! Ach so! Terrible!" A voice with some German accent came over the line.

"Herr Kount! There's a Net Navi attacking your company?" Vadous put up a German accent, too.

"Ach, so! It's destroying my manor's garden! It's just 10:15 AM and this happens! What a morning!"

"You heard Herr Kount! Dispose of that Irregular!" Vadous ordered.

The three Navis appeared outside of a European-style manor and into the garden: sveral trees were broken and the grass had been crushed around them.

"I am Ophiuchus Queen! I shall rule over you men!" The Navi boasted.

Ophiuchus Queen This adversary could be about two to three meters tall and was clearly of female gender.

Their design seemed to be a snake-human hybrid: their skin was colored gray but it had a purple stripe running across its center until it reach the human-like body's waist: green triangles were set at both sides of each segment.

The waist had an integrated pinkish "U" shaped band with a golden circle there and a small diamond protruding southwards: it had an Oriental feeling to it for some reason.

Their breasts were covered by black _bikini_ – like clothes with a thin greenish outer edge and a purplish band circling the sides and back.

The shoulders had a purplish cover, a green spheroid the outer half of which protruded outwards and three pinkish pyramid-shaped designs running upwards and ending half-way up.

Their arms' skin was gray and they had purple gloves on with a small thin ramp extending past the wrists.

The skin around her eyes was hidden by the forehead helmet's shade but the irises were blood red: the lower face and nose were covered by a thin and transparent pinkish veil.

The helmet's forehead had red armor on it and three vertical stripes running down it: a diamond was drawn on the center and two stripes extended from the sides: purple armor covered the rest of the head's shape.

Two large cone-shaped objects colored purple with a top metallic needle and lower purple elongated needles were attached behind her.

"Jeez. Disappear!" Omega grumbled.

"Atomic Blazer!"

"Fire Sword!"

Blood Shadow shot a powerful stream of flames which was taller than the enemy even while Sigma struck them from the left.

"GRA~H!"

A man ran out of the manor.

He looked on his late fifties or early sixties and roughly one meter and eighty centimeters tall if not a bit taller.

He had grey hair along with an equally gray moustache while his eyes' irises were brown.

He wore a reddish bathrobe over a white shirt: he also had gray pants on and thick socks plus a pair of slippers.

"Ach so! Thanks for your help, gentlemen." He thanked.

"It's nothing, sir. Duty, sir." Omega replied.

"Beep-beep! Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Caller ID: Mr. Richard Rickhem."

"Mr. Rickhem! I know what's going on. A Net Navi is attack your company's home office?" Vadous quickly guessed.

"It's inside of the basement parking and it's destroying the employees' cars!" A man replied.

"GO!" Vadous told his men.

"… Tee, heh, heh, heh! I smash and crash!"

A female Navi was going berserk inside of an underground parking and attacking cars.

The Navi could be around Blood Shadow's height but shorter than Omega: her main color was blue.

Her face's skin was white and her eyes' irises blue in color: she had a small nose and an open mouth the insides of which were colored blue.

A cyan edge surrounded the face while the rest of the helmet was navy blue in color and had a red diamond set on the center of it: two diamonds came out of the NW and NE corners and had a smaller central yellow diamond set there.

Her neck had a blue band around it and part of her upper body skin was exposed by the pyramid-like openings of her black and blue suit: a small yellow dot was set on the center of the opening.

A stretch of the arms around the shoulders was exposed and then covered in suit having some diamonds drawn there: thick blue armor surrounded the wrist and fingerless black gloves covered the hands: her fingers were blue in coloring.

The suit then formed two sky blue triangles over the breasts, a cyan central diamond, and a purple-colored segment extending until the knees.

Two side-pieces of armor colored navy blue were attached to the sides of the body and had small spheroids on their ends.

Cyan and blue formed more drawings before, on the knees and after them.

She then had navy blue coloring over the legs and small yellow diamonds atop the ankles: the feet ended in a silver piece over the shoes.

These shoes were split into three segments colored black, blue and black respectively.

She was wielding a gigantic hammer the head of which was made of ice and easily crushing the cars.

"COME AT FULL POWER!"

"Another _femme fatale_…" Blood Shadow complained.

"Che! I'm about to get angered." Omega grumbled.

"I'm Dia Iceburn! I'll turn you into ice statues to be squished!"

"Shut up! Thunderbolt Blade!"

"Elec Sword!"

Blood Shadow drew a blade the central body of which shaped like a thunderbolt and swung it left and right before bringing it down and having a thunderbolt rain down from above while Sigma split them in half by the waist with his weapon.

"YA~H!"

"Phew!"

A man came into the garage: he looked on his forties and about a meter and eighty tall.

His hair was colored black and his eyes' irises were brown: he was clean shaven but some small dots of facial hair were left on his face although they were hard to spot.

He simply wore a white shirt, a blackish tie, and black pants.

"Thank you very much." The man thanked.

"No. There was no need, Mr. Rickhem." Omega replied.

"Who's next?" Sigma grinned.

"Incoming call via the Emergency Line. Caller ID: Messier Le Count François de Rivalou."

"_Messier Le Count de_ Rivalou! There's a Net Navi over there?" Vadous announced while putting up his French accent again.

"_Oui_! _Merde alons_! They're on my manor's swimming pool!" The caller exclaimed.

"Water – Attribute? Easy. Let's go!" Omega ordered.

They warped and appeared in front of a wide pool placed in the garden of another European-style manor.

"Mwah, hah, hah!"

A new Navi could be seen swimming on the pool.

"What in the… A Nessy wannabe?" Blood Shadow groaned in pure annoyance.

They were over then meters tall and their design was inspired by the Loch Ness Monster.

Their main body was a spheroid-like construct with two rubies set on the sides of it and a tail emerging behind it: their main color was orange with some traits of white.

The main body also had four flipper-like extensions or feet which allowed it to swim: an orange dome popped out atop it and the lower edge looked less armored than the top one.

Their neck was colored black and white and their head's forehead had a ruby set there while the eyes were green and black in coloring: big teeth filled his mouth too.

"YOU'RE FINISHED!"

"The last one: destroy it!" Omega simply told them.

"Elec Blade!"

"Triple Thunderbolt!"

"Elec Shot!"

"You lowlifes can't defeat Brachio Wave – sama~!" The Navi began but was unable to finish.

The combined attacks were more than enough to blow it up.

"Ah! _Mon Dieu_!"

The owner came out of the mansion.

He was on mid-forties and appealed as being over a meter and eighty tall maybe closer to a seventy.

His hair was colored in a bright blonde color and so was the beard which covered his face: his eyes' irises were blue.

He wore a black suit over a white shirt, a green and blue stripped tie, pants and brown shoes.

"_Merci_, _Messieurs_! But what's going on today?" He asked.

"We don't know, Count de Rivalou." Omega admitted.

"No! It's very clear. Twilight and his damned co-conspirator are on the move: they're but teasing us with this rubbish! They can do better: heck, the "Darkloids" they have are still hard to chew!"

"Ah! _Le forban_!"

"Yeah! A pirate sure is, the jerk… And Maria won't talk no matter what: she's saying she's invincible, a genius and all that boasting."

"_Merde alons_! Excuse me the wording but…!"

"I know. I feel like it too!" Vadous admitted.

"We'll be going back. Phew. What an afternoon." Blood Shadow sighed.

"So, Bloody~ Shadowy~?" Sigma teased.

"Jeez. You keep quiet." Omega grumbled.

"Twilight! Damn you. You want war again? I'll give you war! My word!"


	4. Chapter 3: Analysis

**Chapter 3: Analysis**

18:47 PM (Japan Time), Saturday December the 15th…

"… Well… Down to Earth we go…!"

"Sure…"

Netto was sitting behind Omega inside of a shuttle (identical to the one he'd used during the VR mission) which was flying towards Earth from outer space.

"There goes the HQ…"

A gigantic spacecraft could be seen through a holographic screen displaying feed from a camera looking towards the rear and to the right.

The gigantic spacecraft had a main dome-shaped body with a small dome-shaped body built atop the first: the first dome's base was rather thick and large: some hatches could be seen on the sides of the circle which obviously were the docking bays.

Some spires which looked like they were made of glass were set on the first dome's surface to be right above the docking bays: the spires had three rings built around them along with a glass sphere on top of them.

There also were some rectangular view windows set above the spaces between each docking bay.

"So… Omega. Vadous – san has had Michelangelo onboard the HQ for a while?" Netto asked as he looked forward again.

"Yeah, Hikari… We build it about six years ago… Blood and Sigma were built about four years ago, and, by then, we'd stopped using him. It's no wonder Boss didn't remember about him." Omega explained while looking over his right shoulder.

"By the way… Did you find out the name of the intruder Net Navi?" Saito asked.

"Yeah: "Moon Disaster". One piece of data which was absorbed by the systems of Michelangelo told us." He announced

"Weird names… None of them ended with "Man". Maybe we've run out of "Men"?" Netto suggested.

"Heh. That sounds possible." Omega grinned.

"Hmmm? Netto – kun! Mail."

"Really? From who? Saito – niisan?"

"From Enzan." Saito announced.

"Enzan? What does he say?" Netto grumbled.

"There will be a Net Police meeting tomorrow, Sunday the 16th, at ten o'clock."

"Obviously…" Netto shrugged.

"… Commissioner Kifune is fond of cats." Omega joked.

"Wow. And here I thought you never joked."

"Well. One from time to time…"

"By the way, niisan…"

"Not randomness again!" Saito seemingly saw it coming.

"Heh, heh, heh! You're becoming a prophet?"

"No. End of the tale. Go curry."

"Patent it!" Netto joked.

"Come on, Hikari… Give Rock Man a break."

"Jeez. No – one is fond of humor over here save for Sigma… By the way: what was that new banner which Dragon – san put there?"

"Another silly mockery… "Escalate to the Heavens and then drop straight into Hell using the Hellish – Skyward Elevator"…"

"What in the… That's so stupid." Saito groaned.

"Who the heck would come up with that thing, anyway?"

18:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So? What happened out there? You suddenly requested for a Dimensional Area…"

"We were attacked by two enemy Net Navis, Hikari – hakase."

"We were able to defeat them."

Ijuuin Enzan and Laika were talking with Hikari Yuuichirou inside of the Science Labs' main briefing room.

"I see. Darkloids…?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Wrong. They claimed being solo Navis. Their names were Acid Ace and Grave Joker: their design and data structure looked advanced: they fell at the second Program Advance and some extra attacks." Laika reported.

"Yeah. Although that Grave Joker guy looked ready to crush me with his mere fists… They were gigantic!" Enzan grimly muttered.

"We were at a disadvantage given his Breaker Element status." Blues reported.

"And that other guy was skilled with multiples elements, too. Guess we'll have to put things in common at tomorrow's meeting." Search Man commented to him.

"It'd seem a new incident has begun, then…" Yuuichirou muttered.

"Look at the footage."

Both connected their PETs to the console and brought up footage of their adversaries.

"Heh, heh, heh. _Hey, cool guy_! Acid Ace's come to bust ya~!"

"CF" Laika's adversary was about a meter and ninety in height and their main color of choice was white.

They had partial white armor over their forehead but the face and the grayish skin were rather unshielded: the top was open too and the sides only had two gun-like pieces of armor aiming backwards.

These pieces of armor ran over the red ear-pads: a small "tail" like in a plane popped out behind his head as well while armor shielded the nose.

Their eyes were simple yellowish spots although his "normal" skin could be seen on the slot carved for the mouth.

His chest had a bulky piece of armor shaped like a triangle aiming forward and the top of it had a black and red crest which read "AA" written there: two red lines marked the half of the side-armor height: the upper half was black in color and the lower one gray: there were two small exhausts set next to the ear-pads and two wing-like extensions formed from behind them.

Another two wings were built over the shoulders: they had a red lower edge, a white main body, a golden stripe, and a blackish segment: they looked like they could be spun on their axis.

The shoulders also had two colors: gray and black, in the inner and outer halves respectively, along with two red circles on their lower ends: some grayish armor with golden edges covered the forearms and a bracelet with a small wing extension had been built circling the wrists: the hands' skin was black.

The outer face of the legs also had that grayish armor made of segments with the golden edges and knee plating: the boots ended in black triangles, one over the ankle and the other over the foot: another wing with a red stripe atop it popped out from there.

He also carried a grayish-armored black energy gun with a curious design on his right hand.

"And mine was far more terrific!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! Grave Joker – sama is gonna squish ya like the tiny bug ya are~!"

"CF" Blues' opponent was a wholly different tale: he was way taller than his companion, beating him by over a full meter.

His main color was blood red and his face's skin was teal in color.

Bluish transparent shades covered his reddish – irises eyes.

There was some thin gray armor set over his head, the sides of it, and around his jaw: two large red ear-pads were set on the sides of his head

His main torso was colored in a shade of brown and had golden edges and marks drawing a circle with a blade-like extension heading downwards: two small curved stripes headed inwards from a thicker golden edge which set the boundary with the shoulders: the central torso's shade of brown was more pallid than the rest of the main body.

The shoulders had two large curved pieces with a main red body, a golden stripe and a black top which looked like weapons: they had a small red triangle aiming downwards on their outer edge close to the top and another stripe heading for the main body.

His arms and hands' skin was gray and the forearms' armor was red in color along with the golden edges: the cuff was black.

Another two red and golden-edged sections climbed up along the sides and fell slightly short of the shoulders: the legs had that same drawing on the outer edges while the inner ones were plain.

Grayish armor ran down the legs near the rear edge and then ran along a stretch of the foot until it formed an arch: a brownish patch of armor was located on the rear of the feet while the fingers were covered by some slight armor.

"What a giant!" Yuuichirou gasped.

"By all the…" Meijin, who'd come in, gasped.

"Yeah. The "Neo Gospel" jerks haven't wasted their time." Blues grumbled aloud.

"We almost got pulverized there!" Search Man grimly admitted.

"And these were but teasers! More stuff is about to come!"

"We're in deep shit." Laika cursed.

"Sure as Hell." Meijin grimly muttered.

19:10 PM (Japan Time)

"… Diehard guy! Jeez!"

A "Cross Fusion" fighter was fighting inside of an almost invisible Dimensional Area deployed in the middle of an avenue somewhere.

His helmet's forehead had a blue hexagon-shaped jewel set on its center which was glowing with a pale sapphire glow while his eyes' irises were blue: a mouth-guard having an outer golden edge and a main silver body formed over his mouth.

His design included red boots and forearms along with brown chest armor which had a golden cross set on the middle of it: matrixes of on/off squares colored green and blue spread across his forearms and legs.

A backpack with two exhaust tubes colored silver and golden materialized and attached to his back while extending four red lines arching over his body and creating a bluish ring around the chest emblem with four small black rectangles having a red dot on their center.

He had some extra armor coiling around his right arm too and he wielded a saber identical to Omega's but colored blue instead.

"Ho, ho, ho! I am Crown Thunder! Being the King I am… I shall make you plebeian bow before me before I electrocute you to death! I'm a genius, I say!" He boasted.

Crown Thunder, his opponent, was somewhat bizarre because he basically was a black body with no features on it save for two black stripes forming "L" shapes and extending from the shoulders, across the torso, and into the waist: a black stripe ran across the waist a small square dot near the navel.

His shoulders and arms were segmented and colored golden they the hands had white gloves over them: the legs were thin and simplistic and ended in Oriental – like shoes.

His very face was a skull with a large red crown having yellow bands circling it set over its mass.

A simplistic greenish coat with a white edge which was filled with glowing round dots "hovered" next to the main body.

"Che. Disappear!"

The "Cross Fusion" fighter jumped towards his opponent and slashed his chest: he quickly turned around and cut his head off as well: Crown Thunder was annihilated so the Dimensional Area faded and the "Cross Fusion" was cancelled.

"PHEW!"

The user retrieved the PET: he could be about a meter and seventy-five in height but his age was around his early 20s.

He had messy silver hair which spread slightly backwards and formed some spikes: his eyes' irises were blue.

His clothes consisted on a navy blue overcoat which had a central silver button about the waist: the coat then opened to expose his legs although it covered the rear of them.

He wore a black shirt beneath the overcoat plus black fingerless gloves on his hands: he also sported black jeans and sneakers.

The right shoulder contained blackish armor with an orange-colored edge and a silver button right over it which seemed to help it be gripped to the shoulder: three circles were then drawn on his right sleeve before a triangular piece of armor expanded over the hand: its main body was black too and it had orange edges.

His PET was colored silver and brown and had the cross emblem on it: he sighed and looked around, distracted.

"So? What are you thinking, Davis?" He asked to the PET with a hint of tiredness to his voice.

"Well, Charles…"

"Come out and let's talk it on the face."

"Sure."

The Navi materialized in the street in front of Charles and stretched before he sighed.

His body suit was colored in a deep brown color and he appealed as being about a meter and eighty tall in height.

His eyes' irises were chestnut brown and his face seemed to be shaped after a man on his early 20s: he currently displayed some annoyance which they didn't bother to conceal.

His helmet's color was red and so were his boots and forearms: the helmet had the _kanji_ for "seigi" or "justice" written in a golden coloring vertically across his forehead's height.

His Navi emblem was a perfect golden-colored cross which was drawn inside of a silver circle having a brownish edge.

The Navi seemed to wear a vest over his chest armor colored silver and having bronze edges: the vest also had the Alphabet character "D" colored golden set on each side of its body.

His arms contained four thin brownish stripes running down the north, south, west and east side of them until they drew four circles around the wrist: his forearms had extra armor over it colored in a grayish color plus a small red dome inside of each palm.

The legs' length had been designed to include a network of patterns interconnected by some nodes which were reminiscent of human nerves: the boots' front edge was shaped like a triangle and so was the heel: they apparently served as close-quarters combat weapons.

Overall he looked young and agile.

"So?"

"Well. We knew Twilight would grow bored of the whole deal with the "hit-and-run" eventually but maybe it was to stall time to build these things to begin with…"

"Obviously… They want to start the _2__nd__ Sengoku_." Charles muttered with a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

"You picked that from Dark Miyabi." Davis lifted the right eyebrow.

"Yeah. Jeez. Truth is: I wanted an exciting fight but not someone to come after my head… Don't you feel the same, Dave?" Charles grumbled.

"It can't be helped."

"Let's go home: I need a shower. And we'll have a meet at the Justice Council HQ…" Charles yawned and stretched.

"What… It's 19:18 PM and you're already tired?" Davis looked surprised.

"Yeah. I can be lazy from time to time. Whatever…" Charles shrugged.

He headed away from the scene while trying to repress his yawns and looking like he was bored to death.

"Charles… You stayed awake until late playing _MGS3: Snake Eater_, didn't you?" Davis looked suspicious.

"Can't be helped… I'm close to the final part!" Charles shrugged.

"Jeez. I'll have to password-lock the PS2 to prevent you from getting bad habits." Davis grumbled.

"When did ya become my _aniki_, anyway?" Charles sarcastically asked.

"Dunno. But we've been companions ever since elementary school and I've always been responsible." Davis dully replied.

"Yeah… The "wise _aibou_" _cliché_… Dunno how many times I've already seen it…" Charles didn't sound amused.

"Ask Video Man." Davis joked.

"Very funny… We'll settle this later, Dave." He drily replied.

"Roger, Charlie."

"If you need help with the PS2 then ask Hal to expose a list of reasons why he doesn't see a point in such an "overrated device"…"

"Jeez. Hal isn't a "he" despite that they talk with a male tune. And stop with those jokes already, Charlie~ Team!"

20:39 PM (Japan Time)…

"… My, my, my! Komero… You made it on time today?"

"I did, Captain Sommerston."

Two men were talking inside of a room somewhere and standing next to a circular wooden table with some seats set around it: 10 in total.

The first man was on his late 30s and over a meter and ninety tall: they had a good athletic figure too.

They wore a reddish plastic helmet with the initials "FS" colored golden set on the forehead: the helmet included black shades and round cavities over the ears which had a plastic grid to protect them.

They had a small black moustache growing beneath their nose but no beard: some black hair could be seen coming out from beneath the read edge of the helmet.

They wore a black suit with a tie and brown pants plus shoes.

"If you'll excuse me…"

"But of course, DK."

"GRTJTXH! I know Daniel Komero is written "DK" in initials but don't mix me with my friend "Donkey Kong"!"

Daniel Komero was on his early 30s and had a body-builder type of body frame: his height could be a bit shorter than a meter and eighty.

He had messy brown hair and some traces of a rather poorly shaven beard and moustache: his eyes' irises were brown too.

As clothing he sported a brown open vest over a white t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

"Please! Let's settle this." Charles called out.

"It's getting LATE."

"A-alright."

Davis was sitting on the north end of the table and to the immediate left of Charles: Komero sat down three seats to Charles' right while Sommerston was three seats left of Davis.

"Oh! Commander Alamantz. Welcome. Please sit down."

"Delighted."

A newcomer set to Davis' immediate left and two seats to Sommerston's right.

He looked older than any of the other presents, maybe on his mid – 50s, and could be about two meters tall too.

He had Indian traits such as the face profile and the teal skin.

His face was covered in abundant black beard plus a slightly refined moustache while the black hair reached until the end of the neck: the eyes' irises were brown.

He wore boots, brown trousers and a pale brown vest.

"_Buenas_!"

"Senator Lopez: glad you could make it."

"Heh, heh!"

Lopez picked his seat at Komero's right and two seats left of Charles' position.

He was a tad younger than Komero and Sommerston because he appealed to be on his late 20s instead.

His hair was blonde and he had some slight beard growing on the chin which seemed to fit him.

He wore a black suit with a blue tie, pants and shoes.

"Good evening…"

"Senator Kaygon… Good, good."

"So! Sommerston. Asking for trouble again?"

"Hmpf! Guess so."

"Ahem, ahem! Gentlemen!"

"Yikes! We're sorry, Commander Alamantz…"

Kaygon was the guy sitting right next to Sommerston and two left of Komero.

He appealed as being on his mid-30s and close in height to Sommerston.

His hair color was black and he had a dense black beard while his eyes' irises were green.

He sported a sleeveless blue overcoat, jeans and shoes.

"By the great Scott! I was on the middle of another analysis involving those ID-locked weapons…"

"We know, Senator McIrranay, but it's just to get up-to-date."

McIrranay was a man on his early or mid 20s.

His hair's color was brown and he had a thick brown beard while his eyes' irises were blue.

One trait on him was a small scar which covered his right cheek.

He wore an open camouflage-color-patterned vest, a khaki shirt and jeans along with shoes.

His seat was placed right of Kaygon and left of Komero so he was directly in front of Davis across the table.

"Phew! The main archive is about 90% digitized by now… That thing's a monster!"

"Thanks, Secretary Nokay."

Nokay came in through the two glass doors allowing access into the small humble meeting room.

He could be close to his 20s but maybe he was 18 or 19 years old and closer in age to Davis and Charles.

He had brownish hair which had been cut so that it didn't grow too thick and it was combed with the help of fastener and comb: his eyes' irises were emerald green.

He wore a simple white shirt, a green bowtie, jeans and white sneakers plus a black leather belt.

He had reading glasses on and carried a notebook computer.

He sat down to Alamantz's left and to Sommerston's right.

"_Presto_! Sorry for the delay. I had trouble parking."

"Don't mind it, Senator Marius Pingole. The club's been gathered."

Pingole, the last of them, appealed as being on his early 30s and maybe close to a meter and eighty tall.

He had a thick brown moustache but no beard although his eyes' irises were blue.

He wore a sleeveless brown vest over a white shirt, shorts, black socks and white sneakers.

"There's my seat!"

He picked his seat to Charles' right and to Lopez's left.

"Good! We won't take long. You all gotta remember about "Neo Gospel" and how there are 5 survivors who have been pestering us with "hit-and-run" attacks all across the globe starting at August… The latest was 5 days ago… Well! Now they've increased their level: they sent an agent onboard the Subspace HQ, assaulted properties of the "Council of Armies" members and sent three grunts after us and the "Net Saviors"… We'll play back footage."

Davis brought up footage of Crown Thunder followed by that of the other enemies: everyone looked on in silence.

"It's clear enough: Twilight is coming for us again." Charles warned.

"Ah! The damned jackal." Alamantz cursed.

"So we might suffer some kind of attack like how the guy hijacked our computers, broke in and then taunted us?" Pingole asked.

"Heck." Nokay grumbled as he typed into the computer.

"Sure thing… So don't lower the guard: they might come hit you at your homes even to destroy the feeling of shelter and safety." Kaygon warned them next.

"_Verdammt_!" Sommerston howled.

"_Mierda_." Lopez cursed.

"_Chikushou_!" Komero uttered.

"_Shit_!" McIrranay growled.

"I know, I know…" Davis tried to calm them down.

"The rascal! My big bro working in Barcelona, Matt… He told me that the jerk tried to send _dominatrix_ bitches for him but he managed to beat them and had them arrested…" Nokay made a grimace.

"And he's going to send cut-throats next, huh?" Alamantz muttered without being too surprised.

"Sure…" Charles sighed in defeat.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah!" A voice echoed.

"Shit. Told you." Davis growled.

"Feel the terror and fear! I'm… INMORTAL!"

"Twilight. The fucking screwing son of a bitch!" Charles hissed.

The speakers suddenly died down but the mood kept on being bad as evidenced by everyone's annoyed faces.

"Huff. Let's go sleep: we'll see things in another mood." Davis sighed.

"Yeah. The bastard killed the good mood already." Nokay fumed.

_The "Justice Council" won't lose to you lowlife's tricks! Get ready!_


	5. Chapter 4: Reporting

**Chapter 4: Reporting**

21:01 PM (Japan Time), Saturday December the 15th…

"… I am back."

Sidier jumped out of the gateway in the round room and walked over to the throne: he kneeled when he was in front of the steps.

"How is it going out there?" Emperor S questioned.

"My Lord. They've fallen for the bait." Sidier reported.

"Heh, heh, heh. And now we pull the line up to toss them into the fisherman's net." Emperor S chuckled.

"I've still got several more Warriors ready in the server. It's helped up a lot in processing the combat data." Sidier reported next.

"Heh. I knew it was a good idea using it. Anyway… What did Moon Disaster find out about the enigmatic Subspace HQ?" Emperor S sounded amused.

"Eh… That's… Well… Moon Disaster managed to make it inside and materialized in the 3rd deck. He then spotted a room belonging to someone named Michelangelo… Some data hinted that he was responsible for all schematics so he thought it'd be wise to seize the schematics…" Sidier looked nervous.

"They found the guy out?"

"Not exactly… He stepped in but it was totally unlit and he wasn't equipped with IR vision, so… He moved forward and tripped with a handrail to plunge into a mass of water… A Metal Gear RAY prototype which Twilight had used was there too… And then Michelangelo showed up…" Sidier gulped.

"A mass of water…? Inside of spaceship…?" Emperor S seemed to find it strange.

"That's… It was a large water tank and Michelangelo was a _robot shark_ which actually _ate_ Moon Disaster, my Lord!" Sidier reported.

"WHAT? A robot shark…! What the hell! Why would someone set up such a thing…?" Emperor S sounded baffled.

"Eh… Well… The spy program Moon Disaster left behind and which was then able to remain there undetected got hold of Vadous' and the others' conversations… Apparently… The point of the shark was that it could only eat Viruses or other data-made things… If it were a human, it'd merely swim in circles to keep it from escaping: the water has been chemically modified to allow for higher buoyancy and the tank is barely two meters deep, so… They'd then rush there and get the intruder out of the water to question it: that data was written like that in purpose to make anyone fall for the same trap." Sidier explained.

"That's some black humor." Emperor S muttered with a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

"G-guess so…" Sidier looked uneasy.

"Hiya~! Your favorite singer has come, Sidi – chan!" A familiar voice rang out.

"Crap." Both he and Emperor S muttered.

H came in while carrying the guitar on the right hand and stopped close to Sidier: he stood up and recoiled while turning white.

"Tee, heh, heh. You got away yesterday but I'm going to have you hear my new single today." She announced.

"H – chan… When will you stop torturing us with those _singles_?" Emperor S asked in an exasperated manner.

"S… The music class ghost chases after your hide…" H giggled.

"Jeez." Emperor S grumbled.

"Crap." Sidier muttered.

"Maybe you need to be hit in the head with a hammer to make you snap out of that denseness?" H teased.

"No, I do not need it!" Sidier politely replied.

"Tee, heh, heh. Get ready." H warned.

"No way…" Emperor S groaned.

"Ahem, ahem… _"We're gonna fill a cave with stuff before sealing it so that when it's found again they claim those are remains of ancient pre-historic civilization which got wiped out by the flu~! Then the Demon Tribe's curse, the Reverse Trap hidden there, was engaged: it wiped out all Monsters face-up on the Field at a cost of 500 LP per Monster: they were all gone~! _And then there were none _came into effect, too! The Opponent lost 800 LP per destroyed Monster 'cause the text said so~! And 'cause he'd lost the 10 of 'em, he was left with 0 LP and Willard Whyte told 'im he was fired 'cause he said so, too~! Tee, heh, heh! And then Sidi – chan used his Armored Form to mince all his opponents and toss them into Hell to be reduced to food for the Demon King within His land 'cause he's a beat 'em all type~!_" H began singing while making those ear-piercing noises with the guitar.

"W-wrong…! I am not that type of person…!" Sidier groaned.

"Q-quit it already…!" Emperor S cursed.

"_The party wasn't over so they brought out the Coca – Cola and drank it to then continue~! They struggled and danced 'till the Hammer Man came out of his grave~! They ran for their five yen and then climbed over the walls while the Hammer Man crushed the cans with his hammer before going back to have a midnight nap again: they crawled across the ground 'till they reached the metropolis and then hid inside of their beds like 5 year old children: the mean guys became the weak guys because there was a curse~! Tee, heh, heh! The grave keeper missed everything 'cause he drank too much _sake _and then was dreaming of winning the lottery and retiring from his useless and silly job at which he'd been for the last eight months of his life~! Tee, heh, heh! Bring out the 7__th__ Army Corps: they're going to swipe the garden with their sabers made of cardboard: they were laughable~! But they then called Commander Beef and he used his secret weapon: bombard the enemy with fishes which weren't sold last week: the stench will force them to surrender and the battle will have been won without blood n' guts like in _Save Private Ryan_'s opening scene~!_"

"M-my audio input systems…! They're overloading…!" Sidier groaned as he grabbed them.

"T-turn them off…!" Emperor S groaned.

"… _Ah! Yeah, yeah! So! There! Area 51 is hiding ET's frozen corpse ever since the Roswell Incident which triggered the UFO fever back in the good ol' 50s which everyone knows 'bout and it was the inspiration for George Lucas' _Star Wars _saga~! Tee, heh, heh! Jump into a Podracer and race 'till Sebulba gets kicked on his useless back and sent flyin' sky – high 'till he lands in Jabba the Hutt's balcony~! Tee, heh, heh! Along came the flyin' whales which flooded the Old World and then ran away~! Mix all these into a cocktail: the Empress Cocktail only for daring people~! Tee, heh, heh! Bond's Unnamed Cocktail is only for cool and pretending guys like his hide~! But we're going to shatter the ice with a Zeus Hammer to bring the frozen skeletons to the daylight and have 'em overrun the Okinawa Army Base~! Tee, heh, heh! The irony of life: jumping over the handrail into a robot shark's pool and getting stuck there~! Punch 12345 into the control panel and have fun making it race~! Tee, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh! B took out the Blade he Brought along and Bladed a Blow out of Boredom and Bane~! Darth Bane's ghost was Blowing a Bowl into the Barracks of Barcelona~! Bar – cel – ona: bar – sky – wave~! That's where the name came out from, girls and boys of all ages and heights as well as of all Bingo~!_"

"N-no good…! I can't block them off…!" Sidier groaned.

"H – chan…! You sabotaged the shutdown option…!" Emperor S cursed aloud.

"_To wrap it up, we brought bandages and improvised a XXXI Dynasty mummy~! We buried it near the Sphinx and casually found out the top-secret passage leading to Horus' Chamber deep beneath the Great Pyramid's area~! And we told Colonel Olrik that he was fired 'cause he was butting around with a pneumatic hammer and his useful yet somewhat silly subordinate: Mr. Sharkey~! Tee, heh, heh! Let's drill and build a tunnel into the Treasury Vault in Fort Knox: the robbery of the century~! Tee, heh, heh! And all ended there~! Hiya~h!_" She finally ended.

Sidier looked totally dizzy and blow out while Emperor S was seemingly cursing under his breath.

"So?" She asked.

"I'm dead…" Sidier groaned.

"Yeah… Me too…" Emperor S cursed.

"My. You're too soft! Tee, heh, heh!" She giggled.

"Whatever…! Please go to the Bog Temple and don't come back for some days…! We need to repair our audio input systems…!" Emperor S cursed aloud.

"Guess so… _Bye – bye_, Sidi – chan. Call me when you get yourself hooked to a girlfriend! Tee, heh, heh!"

H ran off and Sidier turned as red as a tomato while he looked at the ground.

"Jeez. At least we'll shake her off." Emperor S grumbled.

"Eh… What should I do, Emperor S – sama?" Sidier asked.

"Keep on like we'd planned: throw the guys at 'em and report to me each day. We'll switch to the 2nd stage once you run out of the warriors. And they already believe Twilight is to blame so…" Emperor S commanded.

"Roger." He saluted.

"Pst!"

A hand suddenly showed up of nowhere and landed on Sidier's right shoulder: he gasped and slowly looked behind him: the hand seemed to be floating in the air.

"B – dono?" He asked.

The stealth camouflage was deactivated and B chuckled in a low tone of voice.

"Sidier… That face was worth a thousand yen." He laughed.

"Eh…? Excuse me…?" Sidier looked baffled.

"B… You're also in the club?" Emperor S sounded defeated.

"Oi. At least I don't come up with ear-piercing songs." B shrugged.

"Grftjx! That's true but I still find it annoying that you two are trying to pester Sidier 'cause he's a newcomer." Emperor S grumbled.

"I know, I know, S… It's not like I'm a bully: we both despise them." B calmly replied.

"So! Why don't you try lifting Skywalker's X-Wing out of the bog using the Force, Biscuit?" Emperor S joked.

"Oi. That wasn't funny, S!" B complained.

"Oh? Who knows?" Emperor S shrugged.

"Your cape does." B shot back.

"My invisibility cape, you mean?" Emperor S sounded amused.

"Very funny." B drily told him.

"We're not arguing, right?"

"No. We're being sarcastic with each other."

"Maybe Rocky will offer you a ride?" Emperor S joked.

"Who…? Ah. Spade Magnets _DS_, you mean? The guy must be still fooling around." B shrugged.

"Behold of my phoenix feather wand: it can make all enemies be burnt to a crisp!" Emperor S joked next.

"Very original." B didn't sound amused.

"Eh… May I go, Emperor S – sama?" Sidier requested.

"Sure. Train for a bit, too. You need to stay fresh." Emperor S made a dismissing gesture with his right hand.

"Good evening, B – dono." Sidier bowed.

"Good evening." B calmly replied.

Sidier headed towards the gateway and snapped his right hand's fingers: it sucked in some reddish energy which came jumping over the east wall and energized: Sidier jumped inside and it soon de-energized, thus making the energy jump out of the room.

"That reminds me of the Salamander Battle Chip, even." B muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Guess so… Anyway… Do you have anything wise to talk about or should we go hit the bed? It's 21:15 PM already." Emperor S yawned.

"Let's hit the bed. There'll be amusing days to come and go by the middle alley…" B muttered with obvious amusement.

"The middle alley… Intriguing." Emperor S sounded amused.

"… I don't feel like sleeping yet. I'll work on my sword skills for a while before resting."

Sidier was standing in a rather empty stone room which only had a bed and a dummy.

There was a wooden door leading elsewhere on the east wall: the bed was set horizontally and parallel to the north wall while the dummy Navi was leaning against the west wall.

The south wall was bleak and devoid of decoration.

Sidier snapped his fingers and a sword appeared on the air: he grabbed it with his right hand and examined it.

The sword was colored black and had a slightly curved shape.

A small purple-like sphere was set on the spot where the handle and blade fused.

"Training Program: start!" He commanded.

The dummy Navi activated and took out a Long Sword Battle Chip: Sidier calmly circled around it without taking his eyes off the guy.

"Hruh!"

"Hah!"

When the dummy Navi tried to attack he set his sword aiming downwards to block all spars.

"Easy…" He grinned.

The dummy Navi then tried swing towards the right but Sidier blocked it and then suddenly countered: the attack broke the Long Sword and made a cut on the dummy Navi's upper torso.

"That's all?"

The dummy Navi then took out a Neo Variable Sword and held it up: Sidier calmly jumped back, aimed the sword towards the back and ran forward before swinging it on a wide arch which hit the right shoulder of the dummy Navi and forced it to stand back: Sidier quickly hit the forearm broke the Neo Variable Sword's handle as well: the dummy Navi took out a Long Blade next.

"Heh. Whatever you do is useless." Sidier grinned.

He stepped back and plunged his sword forward: it plunged some centimeters into the dummy Navi's body: he then picked the sword and gallantly swung in from the upper right to the lower left: a diagonal cut was left across the dummy Navi's body and it collapsed: Sidier then examined his sword and grinned.

"Training Program: End." He commanded.

The dummy Navi shut down and its wounds slowly regenerated before they closed: Sidier placed it on the spot and hummed a tune as he opened the door and walked out into a wide corridor: he walked into the room to the left and spotted the server along with the purple gateway: he headed over to the server and brought up a holographic screen: "CF" Charles could be seen battling Crown Thunder.

"Charles Morgangantz and Davis Henshman… Co-founders of the NGO known as the Justice Council… His swords skills are interesting!

He began to replay some segments at slow-pace.

"It's obvious that he's polished them over the years. They might serve as a guideline: I could be like Kenobi and Skywalker back when they battled Count Dooku aboard the _Invisible Hand_: fool the enemy with one sword style and then switch to another one which they can't easily counter. Let's try looking up more data." He muttered with a hint of amusement.

He switched screens to look at "CF" Blues' battle with "CF" Laika against their two opponents which were seemingly giving them a hard time because they both looked nervous.

"Grave Missiles!"

"Giza Wheel X!"

"There go the Chiefs of the Fortress Tribe… I think it's really a shame that these copies are at 90% power and were designed in a rush, but… Can't be helped! Emperor S – sama must've wanted to make them feel confident before jumping to the 2nd Stage." He muttered with a sigh.

"Grah! These guys are no joke…! Laika! What do you suggest?" "CF" Blues asked him.

"Guess we'll have to go for the heavy weapons…!" "CF" Laika muttered loud aloud from "CF" Blues to hear.

"Heh, heh, heh. Those guys didn't imagine that I was using the closest CCTV camera to check it out." Sidier muttered with a grin on his face and looking amused.

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword!"

Both attacks impacted their opponents and inflicted some damage but they still looked in top shape and ready for more.

"Shit. These guys are like Darkloids, even!" "CF" Blues cursed.

"Let's distract them and recover before shooting again!" "CF" Laika shouted.

"Enough." Sidier muttered.

He switched off the screen and then brought up a menu: he picked a file and dragged it into the main screen: it displayed imagery from a CCTV camera set inside of Michelangelo's Room: Vadous' crew along with Netto could be seen talking there.

"There…"

Sidier zoomed on Omega who had a serious and rather hostile look to his face.

"Yeah… That kind of face… The face of a pro guy, I'd name it, ya see, you guys who watch the TV... Always cool and composed while looking like he's ready to beat you a thousand times over straight away… I could learn something from this Omega guy, really... Huh? Wait a min…" Sidier grinned before frowning.

He focused on Blood Shadow and seemed to be examining his design and face: he then lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

"Ah. Then that theory is right, after all. Heh, heh, heh. Blood Shadow, they name him? Intriguing… But I wouldn't fare well against him: that shotgun looks like it could blast through steel, even. Discarded… And that Sigma giant must not have much grace to his sword: but he can easily compensate that spot with his sheer size and strength. The _Three Musketeers…_! Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…" Sidier chuckled.

He zoomed on Netto and Saito's bewildered faces and seemed to enjoy it.

"Hikari Netto, Rock Man! I'll make sure to prove my power to you two once I get permission. That face of bewilderment will be nothing compared to the face of despair and fear when faced with a certain slow and deliciously painful end… Nah. Kidding. Emperor S – sama wouldn't allow me to go to such extremes. Whatever."

He returned to his room and cancelled the sword before climbing into the bed and pulling the covers over his body.

"Our beloved monsters… Enjoy the onset of this show! Heh, heh, heh!"


	6. Chapter 5: The Committee

**Chapter 5: The Committee**

18:33 PM (Arkansas time), Saturday December the 15th…

"… Mr. Vadous. The Council yields you the word."

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen."

Vadous, dressed with business attire and using blue contacts, stood up from his seat placed inside of a wide room with windows and containing a round polished wood table: Dr. Spimer had put on business attire, too.

"Do excuse me for a moment…"

All the high executives of the Council of Armies (the persons who'd suffered those attacks the day before) were sitting around it: some of them looked like life-sized holograms while others were there in a real manner.

"Here is the relevant data…"

Vadous took out a CD from his suit's chest pocket and inserted it into a built-in computer: the room's windows were covered by shutters and a holographic display engaged: it displayed all of the Navis which had mysteriously attacked the day before and the battle footage with them as recorded by Omega and the others: a 3D world map with several red dots showed up: three were on north Ameroupe, two were in western Europe and another three were in Japan: there also was one somewhere close to the North Polar Circle and a last one orbiting around the planet.

"Ladies and gentlemen. As you can see, this is the list of the mysterious Navi appearances which had happened during yesterday." Vadous politely announced.

"So… Twilight and his accomplices staged this?" Ms. Argad immediately guessed.

"Correct." Vadous confirmed.

"The "lay low and suddenly strike" tactic, huh…" General Hawk muttered with a hint of annoyance to his voice.

"Ach, so! Nothing good can come out of such a bold move." Kount Serbauf muttered as he rubbed his moustache: he was one of the persons present via hologram.

"Incidentally… This hologram system is very convenient. If it's not possible to come all the way to Arkansas in a rush then one can take part in the meeting as well." Mr. Rickhem commented.

"Sometimes _Star Wars_ is a good source of inspiration." Dr. Spimer admitted with a smile.

Vadous seemingly reacted to the name so he looked at some notes he'd brought over: Dr. Spimer caught glance of it and cleared his throat.

"Excuse us. We got carried away. You may continue, Mr. Vadous." Dr. Spimer told him.

"Ah. Thank you very much. Ahem, ahem… These Net Navis weren't extremely hard to defeat yet… They could've been even tougher: the Darkloids which cooperated with "Nebula" two years ago took more than one match to delete and so did the "Neo Gospel" guys back in the summer... These ones seemed to be programmed to fight until the end and not give up at all. Maybe they rushed it up… Sadly enough, I've been unable to recover any program data to analyze it." Vadous explained.

"_Oui_. I had a look at the Net Savior reports: the only one which was defeated at the first encounter was the Darkloid Bowl Man. The Darkloid Beast Man took _three_ encounters to defeat." The Count de Rivalou brought up.

"I see. Overconfidence. Twilight is aiming for that: he wants us to get overconfident, lower our standards and then bring in even stronger troops to break through our lines and force us to enforce tactical withdrawal. It makes sense." General Hawk suggested.

"Ah. Overconfidence…" Vadous brought a hand to his chin.

"If we are talking about one member of the so-called "Demon Tribe"…Then it's to be expected that they will believe to always be holding the upper hand." Mr. Rickhem guessed.

"But such criteria may not apply to _all_ of them: Kanou Shade was an ally and the _former_ member is not that kind of person." Dr. Spimer argued back.

He glanced in a discrete manner at the other members and they seemed to catch a non-spoken message.

"Ahem, ahem. Please refrain from needless off-topic conversations. The main topic is actions to be taken regarding this." Dr. Spimer cleared his throat to seemingly set some order.

"Although the attacks were minimal and didn't bring much attention given their locations… Some rumors have been leaked. I am afraid some of my company's employees spoke about it." Ms. Argad sighed.

"I got a call from the state governor, even. I managed to make it look like it'd been a ploy from a rival company." Mr. Rickhem admitted.

"If I could guess… Twilight will throw whatever else he has in store at the Japan Net Saviors. But he may then hope to catch us unaware a second time, too. It'd be wise to increase security: I could help redesign the IPS systems to detect their transit close to the attacked spots." Vadous offered.

"Good idea. "Fool me once, you're to shame. Fool me twice, I'm to shame". No – one will get fooled twice even by trying to use a curtain of smoke to hide." General Hawk looked like he approved of it.

"Correct. It'd seem there's a general consensus. Please try to gather any information regarding large equipment buying or moving around: they might try to conceal their activities by pretending to be a backup data management center." Dr. Spimer suggested.

"Leave it to us: we have connections." Ms. Argad looked amused.

"Excellent. If you will excuse me… I have another meeting to attend to. I will make sure to supply the IPS systems in less than 48 hours. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen."

"Good luck." Everyone rallied.

09:56 AM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 16th…

"… And I swear: That Grave Joker guy could've pulverized a tank with just the swing of his arms!"

Laika was groaning about the battle of yesterday as he, Netto, Saito, Enzan, Detective Misaki, Superintendent Manabe and Commissioner Kifune had gathered around a table in a meeting room.

"We should be glad we didn't get to face the guy, then!" Netto looked surprised.

"And that Acid Ace guy was faster than an express train outta control, I'd say! He was always five steps ahead of me!" Enzan exasperatedly commented to Saito.

"Yeah. His attacks were no joke!" Blues grumbled, for once.

"Huh. Then we have nothing to complain about. It sounds like Beast Man, even." Saito muttered.

"I'd preferred a hundred Viruses to that moving giant." Search Man sounded exasperated.

"It'd seem the atmosphere is the usual one." Manabe commented with a smile.

"It's good that they're being so energetic." Kifune looked amused.

"True, sir." Misaki smiled as well.

There was a knock on the door and Vadous stepped while closing it behind him: he looked like he'd come running.

"Good morning. Am I on time? I forgot my wristwatch." He admitted while looking somewhat nervous.

"Do not be concerned, Mr. Vadous. It's 09:58 AM."

"Ah. Thank you very much."

He picked his seat and picked a bottle of water: he served some in one plastic cup and then drank it.

"So… Twilight is the culprit this time around, Mr. Vadous?" Kifune asked him.

"Yes, sir. There's no mistake. It's a challenge." Vadous summed up.

"We've heard that there were more to those two which showed up to challenge us…" Enzan brought up.

"Have a look." Vadous replied.

He took out a Link PET colored brown and a small object which looked like a webcam: he connected the webcam to the PET with the USB wire and it turned on to project the hologram.

"Whoa. Three on Ameroupe, one in the North Polar Circle, two in Europe, another two in Japan and one… in orbital path…? Ah. Mr. Vadous' HQ, too…" Laika whistled in surprise.

"Was the attacker strong?" Enzan politely asked.

"Sadly, we didn't get to battle it. Michelangelo was hungry, so he picked the guy as his evening meal." Vadous shrugged.

"Michelangelo ate a Net Navi…?" Kifune looked baffled.

"Is that even possible?" Manage sounded dumbfounded.

"Michelangelo ain't a human! Vadous – san designed it: a robot shark with his own pool." Netto sighed.

"What!" Everyone gasped.

"The point of it was that it could only "eat" data. If the intruder was a human it merely circled around until the crew got the intruder out of the pool." Saito rolled his eyes.

"And that's supposed to be the anti-intruder system?" Laika looked totally baffled.

"Well… It hadn't been working for some years, so… I'd forgotten it was onboard, even! There are a lot of rooms, you see! And since we barely came up there…" Vadous scratched the back of his head.

"Well… In any case… This is the opening act. There'll be more of this like what happened in the summer with Neo Gospel: Twilight isn't the type to stay quiet for long." Kifune cleared his throat to set some order.

"Yeah. Obviously." Enzan sighed.

"Are there any more questions?" Manabe asked.

"No." The four teens replied.

"Well then… I'll be returning. I have some job to do. Good morning, everyone." Vadous announced.

"Ah! Please wait a minute, Mr. Vadous! What was the intruder's name, if we may know?" Enzan asked.

"There was a small piece of data left behind in the Cyber World… "Moon Disaster". They all had some weird names, really." Vadous replied.

"We suggested to Omega that we may have even run out of "Men" to name Net Navis." Netto admitted.

"Why. That'd be intriguing." Vadous lifted his eyebrows.

"Wouldn't it?" Saito grinned.

"Thank you very much. I am sorry for interrupting you." Enzan thanked him.

"Don't mind it, Enzan – kun. And beware of the newest diet trends: it won't be even a week before Lartes brings it down after having done a strict study of all of its flaws." Vadous smiled.

"Uh… Thank you very much." Enzan looked slightly nervous.

"You can say _bye-bye_ to those hamburgers, Enzan." Laika grinned.

"Good morning!" Vadous waved a hand as he headed out.

"Good morning." Everyone else replied.

They didn't spot the CCTV camera set in the room shutting down after having seemingly been filming them for the last 10 minutes…

10:16 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew. The place is way too hot."

"Yeah. Feels good to cool off…"

The twins walked out of the Net Police building and spotted someone familiar leaning against a wall nearby.

"Hey! Charles!" Netto exclaimed.

"How's it goin', Charles?" Saito asked him.

"Fine! You two look energetic." Charles replied as he shook hands with both of them and grinned.

"Is Davis O.K.?"

"But of course! I beat anything." Davis replied.

"Was that guy who attacked you yesterday the diehard type?"

"Yeah. He looked like a black humor corruption of _Hamlet_ to me." Charles muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Jeez." Davis didn't find it funny.

"Anyway… Wanna have a ride?" Charles invited.

"Thanks!" Both replied.

"Climb up, then!" Charles invited as he signaled a white Toyota parked nearby.

Netto climbed into the front seat while Saito seated on the back right seat right behind Netto.

"We'll be going at Densan City Mall."

"Good. It's time to find the newest _tankobon_ of my favorite _manga_ series: it came out last week!" Netto grinned.

"Maybe I'll find a foreign book to practice my English: I want to learn it on my own and not having it pre-programmed into me." Saito grinned.

10:28 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Where the heck did Sigma go to today?"

Omega walked into a VR Room: Blood Shadow stood firm and saluted after disengaging the results screen and Omega folded his arms.

"Sigma? Odd, sir. I saw him about twenty minutes ago, sir." Blood replied while sounding surprised.

"Where?" He questioned.

"The third deck, sir." Blood replied.

"Hmmm? The third deck? Maybe he wants to test another of the VR Rooms?" Omega frowned.

"Or maybe... Oh. Crap." He hissed.

"What's the matter? Are you storing something in the third deck?" Omega frowned.

"No, it's not me, sir. But Boss put something in there, sir." Blood Shadow replied.

"What? Boss put something on the third deck? Wait... Third deck... Oh shit! SIGMA~!"

Omega had obviously caught up and was now running out: Blood Shadow sighed in defeat.

_Ever since he was introduced to Michelangelo he hasn't stopped talking about him. I wouldn't be surprised if he's unhooked him to see him race alongside the water tank... Sir Omega's gonna give him quite the scolding, so he'll learn not to do these idiocies again..._

"SIGMA~! CAUGHT YOU~!"

"YIKES!"

"GO DO SOMETHING USEFUL! PATROL!"

"R-roger, Command Omega… Man. What dumb luck, really…"

10:37 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I want to request a portable wireless USB device to plug and connect to a 3G network! No! I'm not interested in your offers of smart phones! Ya better gimme the info I want 'bout it or I'll call my friends! Fella! Ya don't believe me? Try me! And ye'll later regret it!"

A man was sitting inside of an office and yelling at a wireless phone.

He looked on his forties and seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall.

A thick black beard covered his face along with some black hair: his eyes' irises were blue.

He wore a green army uniform with some rank distinctions on the right side of it plus a cap with the Ameroupe Air Force emblem.

"… Jeez! I will ask that other company: the one who is yer number one rival! No! Don't come and beg at me! Ya had a chance: ya have lost it, see! Farewell!"

He slammed the wireless back on its base while he leaned backwards on the chair and grumbled.

"Is there a problem? _Comrade_?" A voice with some Sharo accent asked.

The man in the chair eyed another on the open threshold of the room.

This newcomer looked as being on his late forties: his hair was grey and parts of it fell down in the front of the face and he seemed to be missing his left eye as well.

He was dressed in a grey army uniform, although the area around the sleeves and neck was colored in a reddish patch: he had a distinction on the right side of the uniform just underneath the right shoulder.

"No. A useless phone company…"

"It is a shame, Colonel Botos. Good morning." Colonel Talos replied.

"Good morning… Huff. I come back from overseas and what a mess."

"Truly. That damned fool won't give up."

11:09 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Gotcha!"

Netto walked out of a bookstore with Saito while carrying a bag with a new _tankobon_ of his favorite _manga_: Saito had gotten a new novel to read as well titled _Murder on the Orient Express _while Charles had also bought himself a book titled _Guide to Kendo_.

"Why! What a coincidence. Good morning." A familiar dull voice greeted nearby.

The owner was a man on his forties who could be over a meter and ninety tall: they had an athletic build to them.

His hair was colored in a blonde color and was neatly combed although it had reminiscences of a military haircut given the edges.

He was dressed in a gray trench overcoat, a black sports suit and pants along with brown shoes.

He had sunglasses on, though.

"Oh! Chief Lezareno. It's been a while." Charles smiled.

"Mr. Morgangantz. It'd seem you will be the national _Kendo _champion at this rate." Chief Lezareno glanced at his book.

"Please…" Charles rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh! You've been found out, Charlie~ Team!" Davis joked.

"Charles!" He grumbled.

"I'd rather say "Charleston" instead." A voice rang out.

A new man joined them: this guy could be on his mid 20s.

He had short brown hair and his eyes' irises were brown: slight remains of a recent shaving could be spotted on his face too.

He wore a white shirt, a purplish tie, pants and brown shoes coupled with a black open raincoat: he also had reading glasses on.

"Oh! Denpa – san!" The twins looked surprised.

"What… It's not like we didn't meet each week, Netto – san and Saito – san!" He sounded amused.

"Ah. Mr. Denpa… The jellyfish appeared on the beach. It's been picked up and it's headed for the aquarium." Chief Lezareno whispered.

"I see. Good job. It's kept us busy ever since the end of October. Keep it up like that if you may." Mr. Denpa whispered back.

"Eh… Maybe we should ring Octopus – han?" Netto suggested.

"… No. It will be unnecessary this time around."

"Ah. We get it." Saito looked surprised.

"Jellyfish… Now… Where have I heard that before?" Charles frowned.

"… Yeah. That's the investigation we were doing along Chief Lezareno, Charles." Davis whispered.

"Oh. True." Charles looked slightly nervous.

"Eh… Has there been an incident?" Netto tried to guess.

"… Correct. But, for security reasons, we'd prefer to leave it vague. We don't want to disclose too many details: it's still being wrapped up and we don't want the salmon swimming away." Mr. Denpa told them.

"We understand… We will not ask further." Saito calmly nodded in understanding.

"Well… Can I drive you two to your home?" Charles offered.

The twins headed away while talking with Charles and Davis while both adults seemed to be concerned over something.

"Chief. Please make sure to keep everything on paper just in case and in your office. Just in case…" Mr. Denpa suggested.

"Obviously. It's 95% complete. We just need another little push to wrap it up: it's time to end such madness." Chief Lezareno calmly replied.

11:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Madness…? Hmmm… I really don't see the point of such hush-hush between them… Then again… If you want to keep stability… Then there's a need to conceal information or not give out too many details. It may be something like a criminal group smuggling drugs…"

Sidier was standing inside of the CCTV camera's Cyber World and looking out while being seemingly puzzled.

"Huff. That must be it… They don't want to give out details in case someone overheard and they spoke with codenames. I'm sure the meaning of that phrase was to say that "the boss of the gang showed up at the ambush spot and has been caught to the police: it's heading towards the station." … And the "salmon" must mean "accomplices" or "grunts": there are some of them out there which need to be caught."

"… Let's meet in an hour's time at your office, Chief. Maybe we'll be able to close this by today." Mr. Denpa told him.

"Roger. Later." Chief Lezareno acknowledged.

They both headed on different paths so Sidier snapped his right hand's fingers and shut off the screen: he then produced an USB-like device and copied some data into it.

"I'll bring this to Emperor S – sama. Let's go back to the hideout and get ready to work on the next batch of Warriors. Fear and chaos are barely starting. Heh, heh, heh. I'll grant 'em a living Hell."

He headed for one of those energy bubbles which had grown to be almost two meters tall: he jumped inside and the bubble vanished yet "Darkloid" Cosmo Man suddenly became visible: he had an annoyed and suspicious glare to his face.

"What, a brat? Yet… "Emperor S – sama"… Who are they? Maybe Mister "KO" knows something… It's at times like this that we miss Twilight – sama's commands. But if he's testing us we won't let him down."

_Twilight – sama! We shall make thou proud! Heh, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh!_


	7. Chapter 6: Ruckuses

**Chapter 6: Ruckuses**

17:51 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday December the 19th…

"… A~u~! I'll cut everything with my claws! I am Wolf Forest and I'll destroy all of you lowlifes!"

"Hah, hah, hah! We're Gemini Spark! Everything will end up destroyed by our power!"

"Buku! I, Cancer Bubble, will drown all of you! Buku!"

"IT'S ALL OVER!"

"You're troublesome, did ya know that?"

"Let's dispose of those guys."

Three enemies were raging around an avenue which had been deserted in hastily manner: several cars and motorbikes had been left there in a rush: Omega and the other two dropped there.

"Wolf Forest will mincemeat the crimson Demon!"

"Sure, sure."

Wolf Forest had a "humanoid" design but he had a more wolf-like shape although he did stand on his two feet.

White metallic armor formed around his neck and drew three slides on its rear heading for his back: the skin color was bluish.

A small shape colored yellow was drawn on an extension of the chest armor which ended before the waist: a thin orange stripe was drawn across the armor just before it ended.

His head was shaped like a wolf's with two spiky ears, ear-pads having claw-like extensions, fierce reddish eyes with purple irises and a black mouth with several teeth.

The shoulders were blue spheroids with an orange band around them, bluish skin for the arms, a bluish forearm and brownish armor for the rest of the hands: four white claws emerged from them.

A needle protruded of the knees while the leg and feet design were rather close to those of the arms and shoulders: the armor began on the knees.

A bluish segmented tail formed behind him too and two slides extended from the rear corners of his body.

"We'll fry up the black Giant! Let's go, White!"

"Yeah, Black!"

Gemini Spark were actually two opponents who had a similar design each and the only variations were their armor colors: one was black and the other white.

Their faces' skin had a dull olive green – like coloring and a faint black and thin line drawing of an electrical current's spectrum shaped like a triangle which formed on the SW and SE corners of their faces and climbed past the nose until they ended beneath the forehead's helmet's armor edge.

Their eyes, nose and mouth were normal enough and their eyes' irises were colored blood red.

Their hair was orange-colored and spread out from behind the helmet in a wild flock manner reaching until the base of their necks.

The helmet's design was peculiar: it had a form seemingly made out of a spheroid's upper half and its main color was black or white depending on which: the center of it had a drawing which could be interpreted as an arrow pointing downwards which also had two small triangles popping out of the sides: if seen from above and looking from north to south it could be a cutaway silhouette of a tree as well: a golden-colored plain horn formed on the middle of the drawing and aimed upwards.

The ear-pads had two parts: they began as simple gray metallic disks attached half-way between the upper helmet and the sides of the rest of the helmet: then a dome formation sprouted from there and had a small hole cut atop it.

The sides of the helmet included two slightly curved triangles colored orange spanning past the lower jaw by a few centimeters.

Their necks were protected by circular gray bands stacked one atop the other with a total of three plus a wider circle at the base of each guy's neck.

Regarding the chest armor, it could be described as simplistic: the colors of choice were black and white to tell them apart and the only noticeable things on it were two cavities cut on the center of it shaped after diamonds: they were red on the inside and there was a very thin black line cutting through them spanning half-way across the chest.

Their right and left arms, respectively, were covered by a peculiar golden armor which seemed to reinforce their strength: each guy's shoulder had a soup bowl – like shape along with the cover set over it: a golden horn spread from the center of the cover.

The armor then continued with a slight division drawn half-way the arm located between the shoulder and the elbow.

The elbow segment happened to have a circular piece from which a curved fin aiming towards the shoulder emerged: this elbow armor could be divided in four different segments: the first one was a little piece of golden armor in the form of a circle's lower half.

It was continued by a set of three half-circular metallic bands spreading downwards until the start of the wrist.

A screw bolt's head was set half-way between the lower and upper halves of the elbow armor: a black cross was drawn on it (or rather the grooves where a screw driver would be set at) and a straight black line travelled forward from the eastern edge until the wrist.

The last part of the complicated elbow armor included the aforementioned fin.

A small segment of golden armor covered the little space between the elbow and the wrist.

The wrist and part of the hand were encompassed by one featureless metallic black circle from which their usual five fingers (covered in golden "skin") came out.

The body below the chest armor was rather plain: a central vertical stripe which contained the helmet's pattern towards the end as it reached the waist spot: it was painted black or white expect on the outer edges where the color switched to purple and ran down the sides of the body including the inner surface of the legs: the outer surface was colored gray too.

Their peculiar boots began just at the knee's height and had a customized design which looked like some attempt at being "futuristic" for some reason or another and their colors changed between each guy.

The reason why their boots looked peculiar was because they had a descending triangle-shaped ramp running until the ankles and with three golden buttons set in a vertical manner one atop the other near the end of the piece.

The ankles' armor was built in the manner of three purple trapezes set one over the other.

The soil of the boots was also designed to have a trapeze form and painted gray.

Each one was past a meter and sixty in height.

"Buku! The mean read jerk's mine! Cancer Bubble: go!"

"… "Buku"…? Guess Water – Attribute Navis are fond of those mottoes, yeah… This guy could pass as a Bubble Man cousin even."

Cancer Bubble was the shortest of them, barely a meter and forty tall, but that didn't mean he was weak.

His design was simplistic: his main body color was a dull faded orange color and his head had partial armor over it but left the sides of it exposed: his eyes' irises were purple too and his nose wasn't visible while his mouth retained a normal shape.

Three orange extensions popped out at each side of the head and formed a set which seemed to be there for decoration: two small antennae with capsule-shaped bodies emerged from there too: the upper halves were colored yellow.

The main body had a thin metallic plate with black dots on it set there as protection.

The legs were unarmored until the knees and his boots were colored in two shades of orange: they looked like cylinders with a dome-shaped end to them and very simplistic.

"Moon Claws!"

Wolf Forest swung his claws horizontally to shoot three curved slices of energy at Omega which he blocked and then performed a vertical attack which left some cut marks on Omega.

"Che! Fire Blade!"

His sword began to be surrounded by flames and he jumped towards his opponent only to be blocked.

"Gemini Thunder!"

Both Gemini Spark enemies fused their golden arms and shot a powerful electrical outburst at Sigma which was met with a dome-shaped rainbow-colored shield: it got cracked but Sigma suddenly bent the air around him before he warped with an effect of a circle shrinking and erasing his body until he was gone: both gasped as Sigma fell down from above and swung his sword to hit them.

"Groah!"

"Che!"

"Cancer Wave!"

Cancer Bubble summoned a tall _tsunami_ and it washed Blood Shadow again: he grumbled and ran towards the opponent.

"Custom Bolt!"

"Buku! Lightning Rod!"

Bubble Man formed the Lightning Rod and it shot the attack back at Blood Shadow: he snarled and focused.

"Wolf Horde! Au~!"

Four or five brown wolves appeared and jumped towards Omega: he calmly swung his sword in the correct angle to slice them and make them explode: Wolf Forest then swung his claws both horizontally and vertically but Omega didn't have any trouble stopping the attacks with his sword: Wolf Forest's claws shattered and he looked at them in utter disbelief.

"Vanish."

Omega's armor switched to an orange color and he dashed forward: he then jumped vertically while drawing a curve with his sword: Wolf Forest was set on fire and split into two.

"Gu… Guo~h!" He roared.

He blew up and Omega calmly jumped back: he looked towards the right to see Sigma smacking a gigantic black and fluorescent green sword into the ground around him, scaring the guts outta Cancer Bubble and making him run around.

"Buku~!" He cried, even.

"…"Buku"? That sounds like a rip-off of Darkloid Bubble Man's "puku" trademark speech… And it'd seem they decided to switch opponents around…" Omega lifted is eyebrows in surprise.

"Grah!"

Blood Shadow recoiled as powerful electrical blast hit him on the chest: the Gemini Spark twins had connected their golden arms and fused their power to shoot at him.

"Ugh… No joke…" He grumbled.

"Need a hand?" Omega asked.

"No, sir, thank you very much. I can handle this, sir."

"Oi! Ye jerk! You're over!" Sigma taunted.

"Cancer Wave, buku!"

He summoned the large tsunami which hit Sigma but he didn't even move from his spot: Cancer Bubble looked terrified and tried to run for it: Sigma jumped across the air and landed with force in front of him: he picked him with the left hand and glared at him.

"Talk!" He ordered.

"Gemini Thunder!"

"BUKU~!"

The attack hit Cancer Bubble and destroyed him due to its high power plus the elemental weakness: both Sigma and Omega turned to look at the Gemini Spark twins.

"Code 125: units are forbidden from surviving." They automatically announced like automatons.

"TOWAIRAITO~!" Omega growled.

"Charged shotgun shot!"

Blood Shadow snuck behind then and aimed the shotgun at close-quarters: the attack pierced through the black twin's body and Omega then jumped into the fray by plunging his sword into the white one's chest: they both roared and blew up.

"They wanted to die so badly…" Omega shrugged.

"I'm sure that even if we capture one, they've been equipped with a self-destruct program… Twilight and "KO" must be making sure we can't trace him. The bothersome jerks!" Blood Shadow grumbled.

"Yeah. We're going to beat 'em up once he find 'em!" Sigma grumbled as he looked at his sword.

"Our job is done. Let's go report." Omega commanded.

"Roger."

"Roger the Roger Dragon of Hell!"

"Oh come on!"

18:06 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I am Apollon Flame! Bow before my power!"

A Net Navi was standing in the middle of a vacated highway.

They stood at over 230cm tall from the look of it and his presence was imposing.

His main body color, as expected, was a shade of blood red.

Their helmet had a grayish medallion set on the forehead and a red cross which protruded atop it forming an Oriental – like symbol: two strings of bluish hair popped out from the sides of the helmet and extended until the upper torso: his eyes' irises were golden set against black eyes and his face's skin was grayish: his gaze was scary.

His upper body had red armor covering it and extending across the arms: he had no "spheroid shoulders" like most Navis did but more anatomically correct shoulders: some fins formed on the underside of his arms: black-colored diamonds with a golden interior were drawn upon the shoulders and two smaller black-colored diamonds were sketched below the main in each arm: thick black bracelets were set on the wrists.

The rest of the torso was black in color and included two parallel silver stripes running across the body which formed two cavities reminiscent of the "V" character in the front and the back: another set of them signaled the boundary between the torso and the hips.

The legs' design wasn't that much different from that of the arms, including the same rings on the ankles and a metallic arch over the segment of the simplistic "shoes" where the toe fingers would normally begin at.

A ring of reddish fire spread outwards from behind his shoulders and stood over his head while being inclined like a lid: two larger rings of golden flames were circling diagonally around his body and had intercrossed to form a barrier of sorts to impede approach to him or if to make it harder to hit his body.

"We won't let ya!" A voice rang out.

"Hmpf."

"CF" Netto jumped into the fray while having the Hyper Burst Program Advance ready to shoot.

"A brat? Hah. Die." Apollon Flame was unimpressed.

"Wrong. Take this! Hyper Burst!"

"Tornado Flare! Prominence Flare!"

Three thin columns of spiraling fire formed in front of him while some streaks of flame-like snakes travelled across the ground in diagonal patterns while warping: the Program Advance collided with the columns and bounced off: it hit a street light and blew it up.

"W-what?" "CF" Netto gasped.

"Crap." Saito muttered.

The three "Prominence Flares" suddenly showed up and began to coil around his body while growing in length and interconnecting: they began to spread flames across "CF" Netto's body.

"Gu… Gua~h! Grah!" He roared.

"Netto – kun! Quick! Battle Chip, Geyser!" Saito told him.

"Battle Chip…! Geyser…!"

The Geyser formed and it destroyed the Flame Snakes while causing a sudden evaporation of the water: "CF" Netto panted but then found one of the three "Tornado Flares" rushing towards him: he was hit and propelled backwards: he fell into the ground in a face-up position and panted while he tried to recover.

"S-shit! We lowered the guard…!" He cursed

"Heal!" Saito commanded.

"Y-yeah! Recovery 300!"

"CF" Netto managed to stand up and gasped: Apollon Flame had formed a gigantic spheroid of red fire on his hands and was holding it above his head: it looked like a miniature copy of the Sun.

"Sun Flare!"

He threw it forward and hit the ground in front of "CF" Netto: gigantic flames appeared and leapt into his Cross Fusion body while slowly damaging it and exposing his normal clothes beneath it.

"Gua~h!" He roared in agony.

"Hah! Feel the unending pain and incandescent flames of Hell, brat! You lowlife will be burn by them and turned into food for the Demon King within His land!" Apollon Flame boasted.

"D-damn! Battle Chip, Tornado!"

The flames leapt into the tornado and then dissolved: "CF" Netto panted heavily and tried to recover.

"Rock Man… Are you alright…?" He asked.

"S-somehow…! Netto – kun…! Finish it with a Program Advance!" Saito groaned.

"R-roger! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!" "CF" Netto announced.

"Tornado Flare!"

The blast shot forward but "CF" Netto had aimed for the little space between the tornadoes: the attack hit the left side of the enemy's body and made a large wound there: Apollon Flame stepped back and growled.

"T-this BRAT!" He roared.

"Chance! Let's go! Recovery 200, Slot In! Program Advance! Cannon, Hi Cannon, Mega Cannon! Zeta Cannon!"

The blast took out the left side of Apollon Flame's body and he roared as he was surrounded by fiery flames.

"Code 222 enabled! Go to Hell!" He roared.

"Netto – kun! That guy's going to self-destruct!" Saito warned.

"No way! Area Steal!"

"CF" Netto warped some meters away as Apollon Flame blew up in a brutal explosion which kicked cars upside down or burnt them on mere contact: it left a radius of destruction around 100 meters wide: "CF" Netto reappeared about 10 meters further away and looked around in a totally baffled and surprised manner.

"That guy…! What a thing!" "CF" Netto uttered.

"Yeah… Twilight must've wanted to prove he can be serious when he wants to, too." Saito grumbled.

"Netto, Saito! Are you two alright?" Vadous' voice rang out through the radio.

"Vadous – san! Somehow…" "CF" Netto admitted.

"Enemy destruction: confirmed." Saito reported.

"Good job. Take a rest: that guy was dynamite." Vadous told them.

"Roger."

The Dimensional Area was cancelled, so "CF" Netto reverted out of Cross Fusion and picked up the Link PET before placing it on its strap: Saito projected and "sat" on his right shoulder.

"Phew! I feel beaten." He muttered.

"No wonder… And I dunno what we'll have to face next!" Netto muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Dragon Hell's "Hellish Curry"…"

"What the hell is THAT?" Netto groaned.

"Totally, absolutely and incredibly burnt CURRY!"

"WHAT? Oh damn! Dragon – san! Please snap out of it! At this rate Vadous – san will run out of patience and fire you…! Burnt curry…! GRAH!"

18:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Whose orders do you accept?"

"Need Not To Know, Net Savior. Sirius has spoken."

"Wrong. I ain't a Net Savior. But I guess you aren't programmed to spot the difference, anyway."

"CF" Charles had cornered an enemy in vacated soccer field.

This enemy, Sirius, was a more "humanoid" design Net Navi who could be two to three meters tall and his design was rather outstanding.

To begin with his face was protected by a blue transparent face-plate and it could be seen that his eyes were closed: some blonde hair came out and extended to the right.

A white helmet in the form of an arrow aiming upwards was built up around the head: it had an orange stripe over the forehead branching backwards: a stylized "S" was drawn slightly upwards too and another stripe formed an arch near the end.

His neck had partial black armor over it but some red patterns extended downwards along a gray mass surrounding it and the base of the neck: it looked like energy being channeled.

The shoulders were anatomically correct and consisted of a build of black and gray: a small segment of black-skinned arm was exposed before the forearms' armor came in: it had a mainly white body, a patch of dull brown over the hands and an orange "T" pattern: the hands were black-skinned and had five fingers each.

The chest had a glowing diamond with four spikes and four corners set there: the main body was white in color and had some faint hexagons drawn there while the sides were colored gray.

His legs had an inner white band with the same hexagons there and an outer gray armor: two hexagons with smaller hexagons insides had been built over the legs too: a small diamond cavity formed where the pieces of the feet combined with the front red piece of each foot.

Four sets of four golden pieces shaped in different manners and held in place by a floating grey diamond extended behind him and made them look like wings: a total of sixteen of them spread behind him.

"Disappear into the depths of the world. Satellite Laser!"

His four wings detached and formed a row in front of Sirius: he then shot a multi-colored large laser beam towards the left and began swinging it towards the right: "CF" Charles ignited his boots' jets and flew out while aiming for Sirius.

"Battle Chip, Bug Bomb!"

He threw the Bug Bomb at Sirius and some frizzling covered his body: he yelped in pain and struggled to regain control of his satellite-like components floating around him: "CF" Charles wasted on time on drawing his sword and plunging it into his forehead before jumping away.

"T-this…!" He cursed.

"Bite me." "CF" Charles taunted.

"Satellites! Punish them!" He growled.

The wing components flew out and began shooting small lasers from different angles to "CF" Charles: he dodged and bounced some off with his sword.

"Program Advance! Fumikomizan, Triple Slot In! Zeta Fumikomi!" "CF" Charles announced.

He warped and delivered three large curved sword slashes to Sirius from a close distance: the guy groaned and began to leak data while looking rather annoyed: "CF" Charles stepped back and assumed a standard pose to be ready.

"Die! Code 222!" Sirius roared.

"Area Steal!"

"CF" Charles escaped the explosion just in time and then looked at the destruction left behind.

"Man. We were lucky that Crown Thunder guy didn't get to do that: it'd vaporized us." "CF" Charles muttered.

"More like roasted us, Charleston." Davis joked.

"Who do ya think ya are today? David Foster?" "CF" Charles sarcastically asked him.

"Dunno: ask the half-eaten sandwich you left on the apartment's kitchen as we rushed to this warehouse where this guy appeared." Davis sounded amused.

"Jeez." "CF" Charles grumbled.

"Mwah, hah, hah."

"Sigma… What now?"

"Listen! Dragonius Hellius has descended!"

"That's a parody of his name you've made up here and now."

"Bravo, Charleston!"

"GRJTXH!"

"Did ya know? Bloody Shadowy~ has some looks!"

"Oh come on. Not the _yaoi_ jokes again. You guys are robots! You can't do sex to begin with!" Davis groaned.

"So? Nokay got hooked by ya two?"

"No." They immediately replied.

"SIGMA~!" Omega roared.

"Yikes!"

"Move your legs! NOW!"

"R-roger, Commander Omega!"

"Sigma… Instead of pulling pranks on people try to figure out where the hell these guys are coming from!" Charles groaned.

19:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Sonic Boom!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Strong Swing!"

"Nadare Daiko!"

"CF" Blues and "CF" Laika were facing two opponents.

"I am Club Strong Ou - sama!"

Club Strong was a giant easily over five meters tall or more which towered over the rest of the group with his gray, black and greenish colors: he looked like some kind of statue even.

His face was covered by moss and he had the "Club" drawing on the stone gray forehead: his eyes were red and with black irises while his mouth was black in color: his whole face looked like a sculpted piece of stone given how part of his head extended backwards as a rectangular piece and across the body: the mouth had some kind of barrel inside.

His main body was a square split in two by a blue stripe: the upper half was gray and the lower black and moss covered the top of this piece as well.

The shoulders formed squares which had the "Club" symbol spun 90º to the left drawn there inside of blue edges: each had moss over them as well: the arms were gray in color and then gained thick bracelets with some moss and piece of stone aiming backwards: his fingers were made of stone and were gigantic.

A round stone linked with the waist-block and then with the legs: they began from gray stone blocks and ended in moss-covered boxes with a vertical stripe and a pyramidal body set in front of them.

He carried a gigantic blunt club with a metallic band on his right hand which was his default weapon: its mere size could easily crush any of the two fighters even.

"Mwah, hah, hah! I am Yeti Blizzard - sama!"

Yeti Blizzard, on the other hand, as the name hinted, was based upon the Yeti or the Abominable Snow Man: he seemed to be closer to three meters tall and a bit taller than his companion Apollon Flame.

His purplish gorilla-mask-like-face had a footprint drawn on the forehead, a cyan band over the nose and cheeks, and two teeth on his jaw: his eyes were colored purple and some purplish hair extended wildly from around the whole of his head.

His main body was colored white and it had a simplistic golden line drawn across the upper chest: bluish plating over the torso reinforced it from any incoming blows.

His shoulder spheroids also had a golden stripe on them and purple armor covered his forearms from which his bluish hands came out: another golden stripe circled the whole of the diameter close to the start of the forearms.

His legs were unarmored but covered in "hair" to give them a gorilla-like appearance: the boots' design was similar to that of the forearms and they included three blade-shaped cavities cut over the ankles: five thick toe fingers came out from there.

The scene of the fight was the docks next to the private docks where particulars docked their cruisers.

"Damn. That club makes the ground rattle and I can't keep my balance when he does that!" "CF" Blues cursed.

"And this guy's snow avalanches are always hitting me, too." "CF" Laika cursed aloud.

"Hah! No lowlifes can stand up to me." Club Strong boasted.

"Yeah! Let's defeat them!" Yeti Blizzard laughed.

"Battle Chip, Flame Sword, Flame Blade! Double Slot In!"

"Battle Chip, Custom Bolt!"

"CF" Blues jumped towards Club Strong but he swung his mace and some Wood Towers popped out: "CF" Blues crashed against one and was kicked into the ground.

"Grah!"

Yeti Blizzard merely grinned and ducked to then begin punching his chest and creating a drum melody.

"Nadare Daiko!"

An avalanche formed out of nowhere and hit "CF" Laika, pushing him back and making him fall off the pier into the wharf's waters: he quickly emerged and used his jets to fly out.

"Puah! Satellite Ray!" He spat some of the liquid out before announcing his next attack.

The attack hit Yeti Blizzard's forehead and he momentarily stepped back as it caught him off-guard.

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"CF" Laika bombarded the enemy with the multiple rounds of the Mugen Vulcan: Yeti Blizzard roared and recoiled as various wounds opened up on his body but it wasn't enough to defeat him.

"Ya wanna die so badly, I'll make that wish reality! Code 222!" Yeti Blizzard roared.

His body began to glow in a white light as he ran forward faster than one would expect for his size and wounds before jumping into the air and tackling "CF" Laika: a dummy showed up on his place.

"Scope Gun!"

The precise shot pierced through his body and he blew up: the explosion caused the wharf's waters to shake and some boats to tilt and hit each other for some seconds before calming down: "CF" Laika sighed in relief at having survived.

"Gra~h!"

"CF" Blues crashed into a small boat while Club Strong lowered his club.

"You lowlife's power isn't enough to defeat me!" He laughed.

"Battle Chip, Magma Seed!"

"CF" Laika threw at his feet while he was distracted and Club Strong quickly sand on it while catching fire: he roared and swung his club around while shattering the concrete.

"WHY, YOU~…! DIE~! CODE 222!"

His body glowed with the ominous white light and he blew up as well: his explosion managed to snap most of the boats' lines and they began drifting around in an unorganized manner: "CF" Blues managed to walk over to "CF" Laika before dropping down into a bench out of tiredness.

"What a nightmare! How many of these are left?" He sounded overwhelmed.

"Who knows?" "CF" Laika shrugged.

"Wait until you see the freak I battled." Charles told them.

"What, a giant 10 meters tall?" Enzan groaned.

"No. But he focused on using small enemies to distract you: his big laser gun was deadly: heck, it's cut through the grass and hit the piping underneath the field." Davis sighed.

"Shit. What could be worse than these?" Blues growled.

"Dunno." Laika fumed.

"Twilight…! Damn you!"

They failed to see that a CCTV camera was spying on them and Darkloids Cloud Man and Swallow Man grinned.

"Heh! As long as it brings publicity to us…"

"Then we don't care who that brat is… Heh, heh, heh."

"Glory to "Neo Gospel"!"

19:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Bothersome Twilight! And you too, "KO"! You're some bothersome mice! But no one can escape forever!"

Vadous banged both fists on the armrests of his command chair after having gotten the day's list of incidents: the twins could be seen onscreen and looking calm.

"Now they kill each other, too, and self-destruct! Twilight must be making irony of the "friendly fire" topic!" He growled.

"So it'd seem…" Netto ventured.

"So? Was there anything left for analysis?" Vadous asked.

"No, sir. All of the data was annihilated and shattered." Saito politely reported.

"Che! Bothersome mice! They've gotta be hiding in the Bermuda Triangle: no doubt about it!" Vadous growled.

"… The Bermuda Triangle, you say? Are you being serious or are you being sarcastic, Boss?" Omega walked in and he looked skeptical, for once.

"You know the answer!" Vadous fumed.

"Yeah… Maybe you'll even go swim at beach to cool off. And show off some looks to your fan-girl club along the way…" Omega sarcastically replied.

"Very original." Vadous grumbled.

"By the way… Boss. Could we install some kind of lock on Michelangelo's Room?" Omega asked.

"No. It'd ruin the point of it." Vadous dismissed it with the right hand in a sloppy manner.

"But it'd stop Sigma from unhooking the chain and programming it to run alongside the water tank." Omega argued.

"WHAT THE…!"

Vadous jumped off the chair and turned around: Omega stepped back and looked surprised.

"Sigma is using Michelangelo as if it was a _toy_?" He asked with obvious incredibility on his voice.

"That's right, Boss. I caught him red-handed the other day. That's the reason why…! Oi! Boss! Where are you going in such a rush?" Omega didn't get to finish his sentence: Vadous was already running out of the command bridge.

"I'M GONNA TEACH HIM THAT MICHELANGELO IS NOT A TOY TO PLAY WITH! SIGMA~!" Vadous roared.

He stepped into the platform and it descended along the shaft: Omega and the twins looked baffled.

"Weird. I mean… Vadous – san forgot about Michelangelo and all of sudden he acts like a parent punishing a child." Saito commented.

"Sigma must be about to run as far as he can." Omega muttered.

"Yeah. A raging Vadous – san is fearful." Netto lifted his eyebrows and sounded resigned.

"But… Boss….! I…!" Sigma's voice could be heard close by and it was echoing.

"SIGMA! MICHELANGELO AIN'T A TOY! DO YA GET ME?" Vadous' yell echoed into the command bridge.

"Eh… I know, Boss…! But…!" He was cut off.

"NO "BUT", EITHER! THIS IS AN ORDER! STAY AWAY FROM MICHELANGELO'S ROOM! ELSE I'M GONNA LOCK YOU IN YOUR CAPSULE FOR A WHOLE MONTH!" Vadous roared.

"It won't happen again, I swear!" Sigma quickly replied.

"Good!"

They heard a door slamming shut.

"Hum. He saved his hide this time around." Omega muttered.

The elevator platform hummed and Vadous walked in: he was hissing something under his breath.

"_Merda_!"

"Catalan, huh?" Omega wasn't surprised.

He drew breath and expelled it while cooling down before he sat back.

"Sorry. Michelangelo is important to me." He muttered.

"Eh… We didn't ask Vadous – san's reasons." Netto muttered.

"No… We don't need to know." Saito improvised.

"Come on! You two are 14 years old already: you can know some stuff already. We've known each other for over 3 years: it's to increase the trust." Vadous shrugged.

"We never stopped trusting Vadous – san…" Netto argued.

"You're starting to sound like lawyers…"

"Ah… But… Eh… Manners…" Saito defended himself.

"Give them a break, Boss. They don't want to know everything all of a sudden: all will be told over time." Omega told him.

"Can't be helped… See you later." Vadous shrugged.

"Good afternoon." Both replied.

"Boss. Charles contacted me: the salmons are in the net."

"I don't remember having requested salmon to Dragon." Vadous frowned.

"Operation: Jellyfish… It's ended." Omega told him.

"Ah… Good. Keep like this: we haven't seen the last of those Net Navis."

"I'd rather slice them up like Jack the Ripper." Omega grinned.

_Omega… Now you can come up with sarcasm, huh? Jeez._


	8. Chapter 7: Persistant fools

**Chapter 7: Persistent fools**

18:20 PM (Japan Time), Friday December the 21st…

"… This world will be filled with terror and fear!"

"We won't let that happen!"

"CF" Netto faced another of those strange Navis in a deserted school yard which was the Akihara Elementary school yard.

_Some mockery of Twilight, sure… Who else would send this guy to Akihara Elementary?_

"Libra Balance is in charge!"

"Libra Balance?"

This new enemy looked like a brown statue easily three meters tall as well: their face had no nose and a flattened surface: their mouth looked like it didn't open and their eyes' irises were purple.

Brownish armor partially protected the lower face and upper face but the sides were unarmored: a red metallic arch with a simple rectangular straw emerged from atop the head.

The shoulders looked like domes with their tops set to aim northwards, having four red pieces of armor and three packed round stripes.

The arms were very thin and simplistic and each held a balance with a purplish mass of water and a blackish flame on each: the balances included four spikes coming out beneath them and aiming NW, NE, SW and SE.

The chest armor had a black stripe running across its middle and it then formed two vertical stripes: two round bands signaled the waist and then his lower body began.

This lower body was a solid one piece of armor similar to the pedestal of a statue: the "Libra" symbol was set there along with two black blades on the sides surrounded by bright brown edges which converged into a single line cutting through the lower body.

A small disk came out beneath and had two needles to help it hover centimeters over the ground.

"Hah! A rebellious student! Bow to you _sensei_!" He boasted.

"What the… This guy is crazy." "CF" Netto looked baffled.

"Don't dare to rebel against the master! Corporal punishment awaits you rebellious students: using a ruler to hit both hands!" The Navi proclaimed.

"What age do you live in? Corporal punishment was abolished in a large patch of the world _decades_ ago!" Saito grumbled.

"I am Libra Balance! I punish rebellious students!" He exclaimed.

"This guy still lives in the 19th century…" "CF" Netto muttered.

"Yeah… Oi! Who's the headmaster?" Saito taunted.

"Twilight – sama is: you should know to bow before His name!" Libra Balance replied.

"Twilight! In short: Twilight believes he's the headmaster and that he can "punish" me by abusing of my body using the damned proxies or having that Anaya Maria madwoman do it on person." "CF" Netto muttered in a low tone of voice.

"And Freeze Man surely must've helped with the idea, too." Saito grimly muttered.

"Hah! Freeze Man Vice Headmaster – sama will make sure to prove that our institution is serious and patriotic!" Libra Balance exclaimed next.

"Yeah. And you have an English name to begin with." "CF" Netto taunted.

"In short: you're a _baka_ guy." Saito added.

"Why, you…! Punishment! Heavy Weight!"

A gigantic cone-body-shaped object made of black steel materialized and dived towards "CF" Netto: it had four small thick toe-like extensions as if to help it get properly stuck in the ground: "CF" Netto gasped as he saw it dropping towards him.

"A-Area Steal!"

He warped as the object fell down and got stuck there: he then appeared on top of it while having already drawn the Super Vulcan Battle Chip.

"Super Vulcan!"

"What!" Libra Balance gasped.

The attacks hit his face and he was pushed back: "CF" Netto then drew a Neo Variable Sword.

"Sonic Boom!"

"Libra Swing!"

He suddenly began to spin around his axis at a mad speed and shot forward: he rammed "CF" Netto and made him fall from the gigantic object, which dematerialized: he continued moving forward but found the barrel of a Tank Cannon Battle Chip pressed against his body.

"T-this JERK!" "CF" Netto growled.

He shot the blast and Libra Balance got a wound on the lower body as well as ending up flying away and crashing against a stone bench, shattering it on half.

"It's not like I pretend to damage the school's yard, but…"

"It can't be helped." Saito shrugged.

"Why, you…! You're expulsed!" Libra Balance roared.

"Who'd want to have someone like you as a teacher, anyway?"

"You're fired." Saito added.

"Damn! A: Fight. B: Code 222. I choose A!" He muttered.

"Program Advance! Yoyo, Triple Slot In! Yo-yo Blade!"

The three combined yoyos hit the Navi's chest and left three parallel vertical wounds on it: he was forced to step back as data began leaking out of his body.

"Why, you…! A: Fight. B: Code 222. A is still better!" He roared.

"Program Advance! Spread Gun, Triple Slot In! Hyper Burst!"

"Wha~t?" He yelled in disbelief.

The blast hit his chest fully and pierced through it: he uttered something and tried to move forward only to collapse.

"A: Code 222. B: … Code 222. Either way: Code 222! Code 222!" He announced.

"Shit." "CF" Netto growled.

He ignited his jetpack and flew away as Libra Balance's body shone with the ominous light and then blew up, leaving a crater behind and some burnt marks across the ground of the yard.

"Phew. This one was creepy." "CF" Netto muttered.

"Yeah… We should be glad we beat it." Saito muttered.

"Netto – kun! How is the situation over there?" Meijin asked over the radio.

"The enemy has been defeated, Mei – jin – sama!"

"_Sama wa iranai…_! You tricked me, Netto – kun!" Meijin groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh! Blame me, Meijin – sama!" Saito told him.

"Saito – kun, too… I give up…!" Meijin sounded exasperated.

"CF" Netto and Saito chuckled under their breaths while not noticing the ever-so-present CCTV camera.

"… Hmpf… Did you see, Yamato Man? More publicity for us…"

"Hah! And they'll be trying to chase us but they won't find us: we've continued with the sorties too so…"

Freeze Man and Yamato Man were looking on this time around.

"Our "Neo Gospel" will become grand and magnificent! Heh, heh, heh!"

18:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah! I'll teach you what _kung fu_ is really about!"

"Yeah, yeah… The likes of cha wanna show me…"

"I am Goat Kung Fu!"

Goat Kung Fu was Blood Shadow's opponent and they were fighting atop a rooftop somewhere.

This opponent was shorter in height, around the meter and fifty spot but maybe closer to a sixty.

His face was shaped like a goat's with the horns and two small extensions close to them: their eyes' irises were red and they had a smug smile on their face.

They wore a traditional _yukata_ – style robe colored purple and having the drawing of a _shuriken_ on the chest: silver foil surrounded the sleeve openings and his arms extended from there, having two green curved drawings there: silver foil surrounded the wrist and the inner color of the cuff was purple: their hands were shaped like a goat's paws colored in a black metallic color.

Three wave-like lines packed atop each other meant to be the waist robe holding the pants in place: these had green spirals drawn there and ended in metallic edges together with a small diamond.

Black socks covered their feet and ended in some orange stripes: the feet were also shaped like a goat's paws too.

"Who's your _Danna?_"

"Cosmo Man – sama: one bows before its mighty power!"

"Obviously…"

"It's impossible for guys like you to even injury His Grace!"

"Heh. Tell that to Commander Omega. But I guess you won't be making it past this rooftop."

"Goat Kick!"

Goat Kung Fu moved forward at a very fast speed and tried to kick Blood Shadow: he calmly dodged and aimed the shotgun at his chest.

"_Bye – bye_! Charged…!"

"Too slow! Goat Punch!"

Goat Kung Fu recovered and suddenly delivered an uppercut to Blood Shadow's lower jaw: he recoiled out of instinct but didn't stop charging the shotgun: he then placed it on the enemy's upper torso.

"If you docily let out the location of your _Danna_… I might spare your existence." He told him.

"Hah! I fight to the end! I will die in battle! Goat Doubles!" Goat Kung Fu boasted.

He summoned three copies of him and they surrounded Blood Shadow: he aimed at the right one and shot only to destroy a copy: the other three kicked him on the jaw and from behind into the neck: Blood Shadow groaned and jumped into the air to land in another spot of the rooftop.

"Crap. I try to be nice and this how they reward me." He muttered with obvious annoyance.

"You're over!" They all exclaimed.

"Nope. Battle Chip, Salamander!"

The heat generated hit the 3 enemies: two of them were deleted while the remaining one struggled to put it out: but Blood Shadow was already diving towards him: he made impact and the consequent fire inflicted heavy damage to the enemy.

"Grugra~h!"

Blood Shadow then placed the barrel of the shotgun on the chest and shot to delete him.

"You left me with no other choice." He muttered with a sigh of defeat.

"Blood? What's the status?" Vadous asked over the radio.

"I was obliged to delete the enemy." He reported.

"I see. Sigma is finished with some kind of red condor called Condor Geograph, and Omega made short work of some kind of wizard wannabe which went by the name of Empty." Vadous reported.

"… Empty purpose, empty life." Blood Shadow made up a rhythm as if to shake up his bad mood.

"Not bad. Anyway… Those two forced them to delete them, too, but Netto and Saito told me one of them talked about Twilight: there's no doubt anymore that the jerk is alive."

"This one talked about Cosmo Man as well, Boss. It'd seem Cosmo Man must be giving them lessons on how to fight to the end." Blood Shadow reported with a hint of defeatism.

"Crap. This is bad." Vadous muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Bloody - chan! Look on!"

A holographic screen opened and displayed Sigma's opponent.

"Kya~h! Condor Geograph will bust you!"

"Mwah, hah, hah. Come~!"

Condor Geograph was a flying opponent shaped like a mythological bird the main color of which was vermillion red with some black spots.

Their head had the golden drawing of a bird on their front: their eyes were golden in coloring and their mouth was shaped like a beak.

Two main wings with a design reminiscent of those of planes extended from the neck area and had two engine-like objects colored green: they had a central hole and three lines forming a triangle extending from its edges: black extensions formed past it and behind them.

Three green stripes with yellowish edges spread behind the head and into the main body: they had two wings with square big red feathers.

They were at least eight meters long from head to tail.

"And here's mine…"

"Empty curses you forever!"

"Oh yeah? Impress me."

Empty, on the other hand, was a wizard-like opponent who had a reddish energy body largely covered by an azure robe: a golden brooch with a glyph set on it tied the two halves together.

His eyes were but yellow glowing dots and his mouth was covered by a mask which began as a horizontal stripe and continued as pyramidal extensions colored white and aiming downwards.

Some kind of hat was built over the head: it had an inner cyan edge but the outer sides were azure in color: a red vertical capsule was set on the center of it and it ended in a spike-like manner.

The shoulder area of the robe was brighter than the rest of it and had two blue dots with an outer bluish edge and a line forming a one-step stair while heading for the brooch.

This extra layer extended as two thin blade-shaped extensions running down the sides of the body parallel to the center and having some bluish patterns drawn there.

The rest of the robe was unadorned and he stood at being close to a meter and seventy tall.

"What freaks, really. Twilight must've been inspired."

"Or else… He witnessed them in the "future Time-Space" he visited before returning here… Those "Past Visions" in the Reverse Cyber World keep on showing random images and the latest involved a battle between Twilight, using some mockery of my own armor, and Shade Man, in front of "Regal Tower"… Eh… No. Guess it was named "Twilight Tower" there…"

"Shade Man! I better hurry and check the seal just in case."

"Shit. We'd forgotten about our own seal… Go, Omega! Quickly!"

18:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'll rip you to shreds!"

"I will destroy you!"

"Sonic Boom!"

"Satellite Ray!"

"CF" Blues and "CF" Laika were facing two new opponents in the same wharf as the previous day.

"I'm Jack Corvus! Burn!"

Jack Corvus could be anywhere between a meter and fifty and a meter and sixty tall.

He had a grayish helmet with purple lines extending backwards from near the forehead and it split into four diamond-shaped extensions: purplish hair which looked like it was burning emerged behind the helmet.

An orange-colored face-plate protected his face and revealed his blood red eye irises.

The main body was colored in a combination of orange and black and had an emerald set on the chest: a simple piece of gray armor covered the shoulders and another shielded the forearms: his hands looked more like a crow's talons.

Four gray-feathered wings spread backwards: they had an orange inner side and they ended in sharp and cutting feathers.

The feet armor was also rather simple in design but maybe the armor was designed to be able to cut into an enemy too.

"I am Queen Virgo: you will be sealed in ice forever."

"Hah! Well said, neechan!"

Queen Virgo was over a meter and eighty tall and her main body color was purple: she seemed to be fashioned after some medieval Western Queen given her dress design.

This dress began as a cylindrical purple hat with an upper golden band and cover: silver armor was set over the forehead and two spikes aimed upwards along the hat: a set of three formed a crown-like shape extending past her head.

A pair of transparent reddish shades protected her eyes the irises of which were golden in color: two strings of bluish hair ran down parallel to her head and another two extended horizontally behind her head.

There was a golden edge drawn around the neck and then grayish armor protected her upper body: a small pendant colored red was set over that armor too: the shoulders were designed as cone-like shapes colored purple with a golden edge and her arms came out from there.

Her arms had square sleeves with two stripes circling them before the cuffs the insides of which were gray: the hands' skin was a bluish color instead.

The waist had white armor encompassing it along with a purple ice hexahedron set on a "V" cavity directly over the navel: a layer of ice marked the boundary with another layer circling the legs but expanding at the same time: they formed a dome-like cavity with another two ice layers and two blackish layers and reached until the foot.

She also had additional partial armor flanking the sides: their upper edge seemed to have a "V" shaped as well, a central bluish blade and golden "L" shaped drawings on the lower edges.

She carried a staff which evolved into a cone having a golden stripe and a second blue stripe: a disk of ice surrounded the central dome and a spear of ice popped out from that dome.

"Crap." "CF" Blues muttered.

"Shit." "CF" Laika cursed.

"Pain Hell Flame!" Jack Corvus announced while forming a smug smile across his face.

He formed purple-colored flames and shot them at "CF" Blues.

"Gra~h!"

The flames hit him and set him on fire: he then flew at a mad speed towards him, sunk his claws into his body, lifted him into the air, and dropped him on top of "CF" Laika.

"Of!"

"Wha!"

"Ice Dragons!"

Two wingless snake-shaped dragons with red eyes and sharp teeth made of ice formed and coiled around each Cross Fusion user while slowly encompassing their bodies inside of the ice they formed: both struggled to break it.

"Battle Chip, Salamander!" They both announced.

The heat melted the ice and they then headed for each other's target: Queen Virgo merely aimed her staff vertically.

"Light of Saint!"

Eight columns of white light formed around her and began to slowly rotate clockwise: "CF" Laika collided with them and was pushed into the wharf's waters: the Salamander evaporated in contact and he was able to fly away before even sinking.

"I don't want a December bath in the wharf again." He muttered.

"Ironic. Then why are your countrymen diving into the frozen Moskva River which flows across Moscow?" Queen Virgo taunted.

"Che. They're masochists." "CF" Laika improvised.

"So it'd seem. Ice Dragons!" She smiled.

"Crap."

He aimed for one of the dragons and then realized the second one was coming from behind: he shut down the jets and both dragons collided while destroying each other.

"Phew!"

"CF" Laika calmly aimed and was able to land some hits into Queen Virgo taking advantage of the openings between each column of light: she looked indifferent.

"Hmpf. Water Barrier!"

She inclined the staff to place it horizontally and a mass of water surrounded her: "CF" Laika's attacks bounced off it and he grumbled under his breath.

"Battle Chip, Custom Bolt! Take this!" He exclaimed.

"Virgo Rain!"

She spun around her axis and some drops of rain fell in top of "CF" Laika: he was electrocuted as he tried charging up the Custom Bolt and dropped into the ground.

"Shit…!" He groaned.

"Water Plume!"

She summoned the barrier of water again and shot a plume of water straight for him: he was hit and pushed back until he hit a street light and groaned.

"Battle Chip, Elec Sword, Area Steal!"

"Light of Saint!"

When "CF" Laika tried to hit her, his sword collided with one of the light columns and shattered.

"Elec Blade!"

He quickly spotted an opening so he plunged the sword into the right shoulder: Queen Virgo was electrified and she shrieked as electricity travelled across her body and she slowly began to glow with the menacing white light.

"Area Steal!"

"CF" Laika escaped just in time as she exploded and left a crater behind along with a trace of destruction.

"Phew."

"… Wing Cutter!"

"Gra~h!"

"CF" Laika gasped and looked at the west: Jack Corvus was using his sharp wings to inflict deep cuts in "CF" Blues' body: he had to step back and panted but Jack Corvus bombarded him with three purple flames.

"Battle Chip, Geyser!" "CF" Laika exclaimed.

"CF" Laika's Geyser formed beneath Jack Corvus and hit him: a dummy appeared on his place and the real one slashed "CF" Laika's back twice before kicking him forward and making him collide with "CF" Blues: both fell into the ground and tried to recover.

"Recovery 300!"

"Recovery 200!"

"Corvus Dive!"

He flew into the air and flew across the space twice in a diagonal sweep: he firstly came from the NE and headed SW while he came from the NW and headed SE next: both barely dodged and tried to focus on their next incoming attack.

"Aqua Sword!"

"Side Bubble!"

"CF" Laika shot his attack while "CF" Blues warped and tried to hit Jack Corvus from close quarters: he flew skywards and then dived to plunge his claws into "CF" Blues' chest emblem: his "Cross Fusion" broke down and he collapsed into the ground.

"Shit." "CF" Laika cursed.

"I'm invincible!" He proclaimed.

"Battle Chip, White Web, Ice Cannon Ball!"

The White Web immobilized the enemy while the Ice Cannon Ball inflicted double damage and trapped him inside of a block of ice: he was left unable to move.

"Battle Chip, Custom Bolt!"

He shot the electrical attack and Jack Corvus roared in agony: he began to shine and he blew up: the shockwave pushed "CF" Laika across the area and hit another street light with a groan.

"Damn. What an afternoon…!" He cursed.

"Yeah…! Let's go rest… I dunno if there's anything harder than this awaiting us…!" Enzan groaned.

"Ugh. I prefer a horde of Viruses to these guys." "CF" Laika groaned.

"… Heh, heh, heh."

Cosmo Man had looked on and was folding his arms while looking both smug and arrogant.

"Commander Freeze Man was right: let's let that brat and their boss do what they want! In the end we win a new reputation…"

"Obviously! This will be a long campaign!" Yamato Man joined him while aiming his spear up.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is a stormy winter!" Cloud Man joked.

"Hmpf! A burnin' hot winter!" Swallow Man mocked.

"Of course!" Freeze Man grinned.

"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe "Emperor S" is Mr. Twilight and he's designed this to test us out… To see if we would take profit of this gift horse…" A man's voice told them over the radio.

"Obviously, Mister "KO"… Glory to "Neo Gospel"!" Freeze Man rallied.

"OU!"

20:35 PM (Japan Time)…

"… My Lord."

"Ah. Sidier. Welcome back."

Sidier kneeled in front of the throne.

It was facing him this time but Emperor S was wearing a black cloak with a hood thus hiding his face:

The chest area had a shooting star-shaped drawing colored purple drawn into it.

Emperor S had the right leg crossed over the left.

Overall he looked about a meter and sixty tall given how the throne was built for a taller person.

"The warriors performed splendidly, my Lord. The server is still processing the whole data, but I expect it to be finished by tomorrow morning. What should I do? Do we start the 2nd Stage?" Sidier asked.

"Yeah. But wait some days. I'll put the finishing touches to it and then we'll begin it. It'll be interesting. Heh, heh, heh."

"Yo!"

B suddenly showed up out of nowhere behind Sidier and he gasped: he stood up and saluted.

"B – dono!" He gasped.

"Bond, James Bond." He joked.

"Fitting." Emperor S drily told him.

"What… S. Ya decided to copy our fashion? And there I thought ya had no sense of fashion." B asked.

"Yeah. I wanna play around with suspense." Emperor S replied while shrugging his shoulders.

"H – chan is still at the Bog Temple?" B asked him.

"Correct. And I hope she stays another few days: the more, the better. The bad part will be that she'll torture us with another of her live concerts again." Emperor S sighed in defeat.

"Man. H – chan and her obsessions…" B grumbled.

"Yeah. I know." Emperor S shrugged.

"Eh… What are my orders?" Sidier asked.

"Ah. Sorry. We tend to forget you, Sidier. Well… Go back for the time being and finish arranging the space: there should be more than enough room but do try to be considerate with some of them. The best ones left will be invited to live here." Emperor S commanded.

"Roger."

"Ah. And while I don't mind making the fights "realistic" but try to remind them that they aren't here to kill or delete anyone." Emperor S warned him.

"By your orders, sir."

"Make sure to have the Walker PPK7 hidden under your shirt, Sidier. You may need it if you plan on facing _Le Chiffre_ at the Casino Royale's _baccarat_ tables… And be careful of stuff walking around… They might lead you into a pinch for all ya know…" B teased.

"Stuff walking around…? Money…?" Sidier frowned.

"… But there's another which is more eye-catching, ya know what I mean."

"Quit it, B. You're making him feel nervous. Go back to work, Sidier."

Sidier jumped into the gateway and departed while Emperor S walked down from the throne and seemingly tried to compare heights with B: the second seemed to be about four inches taller.

"Heh, heh, heh. I win at the height battle, S." B chuckled.

"Jeez. What an evening!" Emperors S grumbled.

B chuckled aloud while Emperor S sighed in defeat…


	9. Chapter 8: Reverse Side

**Chapter 8: Reverse Side**

9:45 AM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 23rd…

"… Hiya~!"

"Oh. Roll – chan."

"Catching up?"

"Yeah."

Roll met Saito (sporting his Navi bodysuit) inside of their PC (given the Hikari crest screensaver): Saito was looking at a screen with some news being displayed on it and Roll looked curious.

"What happened with those weird Navis in the end?" Roll asked Saito while looking intrigued.

"We either were forced to beat them or they self-destroyed. The first batch of them fell easy because it was 3 VS 1, after all. But the others ones were as though as the real Darkloids." Saito explained.

"Who came up with those designs, anyway?"

"Guess Cosmo Man and Freeze Man did… I don't see that Twilight jerk fond of such stuff and their accomplice "KO" either..."

"Eh… By the way, Saito – kun… Can I ask you something…?" Roll suddenly looked nervous.

"Sure. What's up?" Saito invited.

"Eh… That's… Saito – kun. When you see a girl… What do you think? No, I don't ask this out of jealousy." Roll asked.

"Hum… Well… Like Meiru – chan, you mean…? Eh… I think it might be an interesting person to speak with. Maybe it could become a friend, too. But I never had any strange experiences. I know Yaito – chan is fond of teasing, but I think that's a weird manner of making a joke to someone like back when Air Man attacked her house…" Saito frowned.

"… Eh… And… you never… hum… get violent?" Roll asked.

"What? Me? No. Why should I? I've never been violent: I always try to avoid battles, but if the enemy pretends to harm me, then I'm just acting out of self-defense." Saito replied.

"No! I mean… You never get like… that you'll always be above them? That you'll be superior to any girl you meet?" Roll asked.

"No. I don't see the point of that. We all have potential, be it boys or girls… It's through studies or work that we determine the extent of such potential." Saito didn't seem to catch the point.

"Then… Eh… Ah… But maybe… Ah… But of course… I mean… Mentally, none of us is even 15 yet, so… Maybe over the years…" Roll looked elsewhere and seemed to be nervous by something.

"What?" Saito frowned.

"Well… Saito – kun… We've known each other for three years already, but… Maybe you can clarify some doubts which I've been dragging on _before_ I met you…"

"You didn't try talking it with Meiru – chan or Yaito – chan?" Saito suggested.

"I've tried! But they all seemed convinced that there could be a very few exceptions to the "rule"…" Roll replied.

"What rule…? Eh… The girl is always younger than the boy when they marry, you mean? I'd heard that in some drama series." Saito tried to guess.

"It's not that far from the topic I wanted to talk about, but… Why do men do such… things… to us women? The myth of creation even degrades us, too…" Roll seemed to be getting annoyed.

"Eh… Sorry. But I don't know. Maybe it's a feeling of power. But I never could do anything bad to a girl." Saito looked concerned.

"Ah! It's not like I'm blaming you, Saito – kun… But… No. I am sorry! I shouldn't have bothered you with this stuff…" She quickly muttered while sounding frustrated.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Roll – chan…" Saito apologized.

"No. You needn't feel guilty." Roll turned around to give him the back and lowered her gaze: she looked serious.

"Eh… Can't I help you, then?"

"… Saito – kun. Do you remember what happened to me at the N1 Grand Prix?" She asked.

"Eh… The Devil Chip Incident… But that was because Maha Jarama tricked Meiru – chan into using that Chip. You feel sorry for what happened back then? You needn't: you weren't yourself. You were being remotely controlled by Count Elec." Saito told her.

"True. I was being remotely controlled, but… That personality… That sadistic and queen-like personality… The Devil Chip didn't create it. The Devil Chip… just allowed Count Elec to remotely control me… But that's all it did." She lowered her voice.

"What? But then… Where did it come out from? Fire Man and Colored Man didn't have anything which could create that." Saito seemed to frown and get puzzled.

"… If I tell you the truth… What will you do?" She icily asked.

"Yikes! Eh… Nothing would change!" Saito quickly replied.

"I find that hard to believe." She muttered back.

"W-what? Eh… Roll – chan… Did I anger you? You look… different… from your usual cherry self…" Saito slowly commented.

"Hmpf. I guess I must look different." She calmly replied.

"Eh… Was Miyuki – san's "water" prediction correct?" Saito asked.

"It was: Netto – san got showered by the firefighters after you managed to brake the train." She dully answered.

"Roll – chan… What's going on?"

"Truth is…" She trailed off.

Some electricity jumped out of the floor and into the air all of a sudden and accumulated to give way to one of those purple-colored Time Space distortions: a purplish mass which looked like a gas jumped out and landed on Roll's body: she shrieked as the matter seemed to grow in size and engulf her.

"Roll – chan!" Saito gasped.

"Grah… A~h…! No…! It's alive…! It's alive…! I knew it…! My power… is going down…!" She yelled.

"W-what?" Saito asked.

"I am…! I am…!" She muttered.

Some purple streaks of light came out of the mass and it eventually vanished only to give way to a purple-colored Roll with equally purple marks under her eyes and reddish hair.

Her eyes' irises were colored red and had a murderous feeling to them: the _kanji_ for _Kouhi_ (Empress) appeared on her forehead colored blood red.

Her hands' nails became larger and her boots gained heels.

A black thorn-filled whip formed on the air and she grabbed it with the right hand: her emblem was also replaced by the _Kanji_ _senshi_ (Warrior).

She had a smug smile on her face.

"I am Empress – sama. And I've finally come out after three long years of pure boredom." She announced.

"W-what…? The Evil Roll – chan of back then…? Y-you're… a _split personality_ of Roll – chan?" Saito gasped.

"Catching up, Rock Man? Yeah. This silly girl… She was left loose too much time and she began looking up stuff. She dared to enter hideous websites and she was faced with a terrifying world which wanted to destroy her. She only saw one way to survive: become a player and controls the pawns in the chess board. Thus, I am the result of all her rage, hatred and wish of ruling over others."

"Damn. _Dominatrix_…"

"But she began acting strange! Sakurai, out of fear, took my host to the Science Labs and talked with a woman researcher: she took care of erasing all that stuff from the flash memory but wasn't able to detect me."

"Then… Then… That's the "truth"… Roll – chan was speaking about…! And you've been trying to push your way out thus her sudden change in behavior…! You must've kept some of that data in your allocated flash memory space…!" Saito grasped.

"Correct. I'm not sure what this program is and I didn't plan for it. But my strength has increased and I can now easily keep that stupid _naïve_ little girl controlled." She made a smug smile.

"Release Roll – chan!" Saito demanded as he drew the Rock Buster.

"Go ahead. Shoot like the man you are. You will leave your stupid girlfriend traumatized and no flash memory cleansing will help you this time around." Empress challenged.

"N-no way…!" Saito made a grimace.

"Ah… That face… It says it all! Your feral instincts are coming out. You must be about to name me by that overused vulgar word." She pointed at him with the left hand's index finger.

"Che! You're a bad person! I won't let you get away with it!" Saito exclaimed.

"Then shoot. Go ahead. You'll seal your fate. Your remorse will devour you and I will easily make of you my own slave. S&M." She challenged.

"No…! So that's what the whip and everything means…! I should've realized it earlier…!" Saito grimly muttered.

"Ah. But since you tried to repress the memories of the _Crisis_, it's no wonder you didn't make the connection earlier. But if you thought Forte, Shirakami or Legato were your worst nightmares, then… You still haven't seen anything. We women are a hundred times more effective when it comes to this stuff." Empress told him.

"Twilight…! He's using you to get to me…! The fucker is trying to turn you into a copy of Anaya Maria!" Saito cursed.

_And I don't blame Forte or Shirakami for their S&M stuff: Twilight tricked them into acting like that. Legato just wanted to play and I let him: and since Netto – kun and I did get to play with Oriol… But being tortured without end until I have no sanity left…! That I can't tolerate!_

"Ah. So that's how it is about." Empress muttered with a smile.

"No… I can't… I can't shoot!" Saito muttered.

"Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball!" Netto suddenly announced.

Saito gasped and he automatically threw the Ice Cannon Ball at Empress: she merely stood there and let it hit the floor: she was trapped inside of a block of ice and left unable to move.

"Sorry, niisan. But I couldn't watch anymore." Netto apologized.

"No. You did well, Netto – kun. Let's call Meiru – chan and try to carry her to the Science Labs: they might be able to delete that personality this time around." Saito sighed in relief and lowered the Rock Buster.

The purple streaks of light came out of the ice mass and the substance formed again as the Time Space anomaly opened up again: the mass jumped off Roll's body as it reverted to normal and the whole ice shattered: she dropped into the floor while the mass entered the anomaly: it then shrunk and collapsed into itself.

"Roll – chan!" Saito gasped.

He ran next to her and crouched while keeping some safety distance: her Navi frame was back to normal and she looked unconscious.

"Roll – chan! Roll – chan! Are you alright? Please answer me! Please open your eyes!" Saito called out.

"Unh… I… what was I doing…?" Roll looked confused and sluggish as if she'd been knocked out.

"Eh…" Saito trailed off.

"Huh? _That person_… it's gone… but how…? I can't remember anything: my personality file was shut down…" Roll brought a hand to her forehead.

"Huh? It's gone? Thank goodness!" Saito sighed in relief.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure… Some weird program made… eh… _that person_… come out and I then had to use an Ice Cannon Ball on _that person_ to stop it… the weird program came out and fled somehow…" Saito replied.

"Oh! No! It was trying to make me harm you…! What a cruel person! How did it show up inside of me to begin with? Ah! The Devil Chip…! It's to blame!" She muttered.

Saito lifted his eyebrows but didn't speak: Netto also remained silent as Roll sluggishly stood up and kept on looking dizzy.

"Eh… To be on the safe side… Can you come to the Science Labs with me, Roll – chan? We want to make sure you're fine." Saito suggested.

"Unh… I was going to suggest that myself, too…" She muttered.

"Roll? Are you there?" Meiru opened her window.

"Ah… Meiru – chan… Eh… We need to go the Science Labs… I ran into trouble, I'm really sorry…" Roll told her.

"What? What happened?"

"The enemy used a program to control her and tried to force to battle me: I managed to cancel it but the program fled. We want to run an analysis to check if everything is alright." Saito summed up.

"O. K. Roll! Plug Out."

"Roger."

"Niisan! Plug Out."

"O. K."

_What a morning._

10:55 AM (Japan Time)

"… How is it, Papa?"

"Well…"

Netto, Saito and Meiru were talking with Yuuichirou as he carried out Roll's analysis.

"A patch of her flash memory data has been "cut" to be taken out: some space has been freed and it'll help when it comes to processing data because it'll increase the speed. The slight Navi frame changes' log new entry seems to have been taken away, too. That purple mass thing was a hacking program designed to do that." Yuuichirou read.

"So… It sorts of "corrupts" Navis?" Meiru asked.

"Correct, Meiru – chan. I guess that the effect on a normal Navi would be a momentary installation of a small personality file before the rest of the code is copied."

"Then… The code for Roll – chan's whole frame was copied by that thing as well?" Saito asked.

"Yeah. They could easily build a copy out of it: given how they could build such Navis and materialize them… It must be a piece of a cake for them to do this. They must want to go for dramatics." Yuuichirou replied.

"I can see that." Netto muttered.

"You can see a hammer." Meiru joked.

"The Zeus Hammer…?"

"Wrong… The Thor Hammer!" She corrected with a smile.

"Are you teasing me?" Netto asked.

"No. I was trying to relieve that air of denseness which follows you."

"Jeez."

"By the way, Papa…"

"Yeah? What's up, Saito?"

"Will you come to home this afternoon? We can't have a Christmas without you, Papa!"

"Whoa! True! Tomorrow is Christmas…!" He slapped his forehead.

"What, you thought it was still the 16th?"

"What a blow…! That happens for trying to work on those plug-ins for Navis to be able to access SQL database queries in a faster manner and such…!" He sighed.

"Mister! Please don't overwork yourself!" Meiru told him.

"You're right, Meiru – chan… Jeez."

"Meijin – sama~! The Hellish Dragon will make you a new hide~!"

"Who the…? Ah! _Sama wa iranai_!"

"Sigma…" Both twins muttered with skepticism.

"By burning ya to a crisp, ya see~…"

"Oh come on!"

"And summoning the 666 Demons!"

"Leave me alone! I'm busy with the contents manager's programming which has to be done before New Year's!" Meijin complained.

"And the contents will be: "Meijin, my Own Life Story", which will become a BEST-SELLER!"

"Wrong…! Sigma! I know it's ya! Go troll a banner!"

"Dragon's newest banner! "Of souls and howls goes the Happy Reaper He Who Lives In Nowhere At All"…" Sigma quoted.

"What the hell… Someone save me~!"

"That's the stupidest banner EVER." Both muttered.

"I find it original myself! Tee, heh, heh!"

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Awaken."

Sidier was facing the strange program inside of a large and empty circular stone room: it began to assume a humanoid form and solidified as the purple fog seemed to be absorbed inside of it: purple electricity then refined the frame until it gave way to "Empress".

"Listen: I respect your ideals. But if you want to hold the power to carry them out, then you will have to pledge loyalty to me. And your new name will be Empress DS." Sidier told her.

"… Your power is above mine… And you're not doing this out of selfish reasons… Very well then…" Empress DS muttered.

"My name is Sidier, Demon Tribe Chief Sidier. If you don't mind it then you can call me "Lord Sidier" as well…" Sidier announced.

"Lord Sidier. I will follow your orders until I become strong enough to chase after my goals." She bowed.

"Good. You have private quarters assigned, too. You're the first: there'll be more DS Tribe members to come. But I will reserve you a special position and allow you large autonomy. Is that fair enough for you, Empress DS?" Sidier told her.

"Fine. I can see Lord Sidier is not the overwhelmingly commanding type of person… They prefer just keeping a balance in place." Empress DS seemed to agree with it.

"Correct." Sidier admitted.

Empress DS then marched out while having a smug smile on her face: Sidier stood in the room and heard a door opening and closing: he then smiled and slowly articulated his fingers.

"2nd Stage has started. Feel the fear and terror, Net Saviors. Will you be able to defeat your own "Dark"? Show it to me!" He muttered.

_Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh… Hah, hah, hah… HAH, HAH, HAH! HAH, HA~H!_


	10. Chapter 9: Dangerous foes

**Chapter 9: Dangerous foes**

11:46 AM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 23rd…

"… What? Navi Doubles, you say?"

"Yes, sir. It's those guys' newest strategy."

"In short: fight our own "Dark"..."

"_Clichéd_!"

Vadous was contacted by the twins and got annoyed once they told him what was going on.

"Maybe…" Saito trailed off.

"It wasn't directed at you two." Vadous quickly clarified.

"Ah… I thought I'd made up a _clichéd_ motto." Netto scratched the back of his head.

"So? Do we have _any_ data this time around?"

"Yes, sir. Papa was able to find that the program ends up leaving some "antibodies" in the Navi frame to be able to reject a second attempt at hijacking it. We're mailing the data." Saito replied.

"Hmmm… Ah. Here it is. If we have these antibodies, then… I could come up with a vaccine-like program to _prevent_ the hijack. It'd be useful but it'd take some days. I'm afraid you'll have to handle without the _Three Musketeers_… I can't risk their frame hijack." Vadous told them.

"We were thinking the same, truth to be told. By the way… Changing topics for a minute… That large operation carried out by the police two days ago… That was what Denpa – san was working on?" Netto asked while switching topics.

"Ah. It obviously showed up on the news… Yeah. Charles was also lending them a hand. He wanted to establish an official collaboration between the Justice Council and the "Committee". They round up a lot of thugs trying to do immoral things. I won't give out details." Vadous calmly replied.

"We understand. We'll be on our toes." Saito nodded in understanding.

"Huh? My Link PET is ringing… Laika?" Netto suddenly looked off-screen at his Link PET.

He picked it up and patched the call up.

"We've got movement! Darkloid Spark Man showed up at the local transformer station!" Laika announced.

"Darkloid Spark Man…? We didn't get to meet that guy but we saw imagery of them." Netto muttered while frowning.

"Can you spot any differences?" Saito asked.

"Not really… I've gone for the Mugen Vulcan and he survived it with just some wounds. I'm trying to go for another Program Advance." Laika replied.

"… Cross Spark!" Spark Man's voice rang out through Laika's PET switched on speaker.

"Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"

"Super Vulcan!"

"Hah! I am Spark Man – sama! You pieces of rubbish must be destroyed by the great me!" He boasted.

"Shut up, Darkloid. Scope Gun, Satellite Ray!" Search Man scoffed.

"Hah, hah, hah! That level of power won't be enough to defeat the great me! Bothersome mice!" He proclaimed.

"I guess this guy is into the "arrogant" club." Netto muttered.

"Freeze Man – sama wants your head in a silver platter, Net Savior! I'll make sure to deliver it to His Grace!" Spark Man exclaimed.

"Laika – kun! Go for Grass – Elemental attacks." Vadous counseled.

"Ah! Thank you very much. Eh… Battle Chip, Wood Tower! Slot In!"

"Gua~h! I'll remember this!" Spark Man roared.

"Target: retreated. Damage level: over 80% of its HP had been taken down." Search Man reported.

"They start to remind me of Beast Man: he always fled after we inflicted some damage." Saito muttered.

"Phew. I'll go report to Commissioner Kifune. It'd seem that they won't have enough with hijacked Navis: they must rely on Darkloids given their toughness and that there's no need to hijack them." Laika wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"I see. Good work, Laika – kun and Search Man." Vadous told them.

"Thank you very much. Well then… Later."

"Later."

Netto disconnected the line but it suddenly rang again.

"This time Enzan is calling…! Enzan! What's going on?" Netto gasped before patching the call in.

"Darkloid Sword Man: the history museum's Japanese sword exhibition has been targeted!" Enzan reported.

"Another we didn't get to meet… What does the guy look like?" Saito asked him.

"Well… He has three "swords" which make up his "heads" so he's kind of inspired by the Cerberus: the guardian dog of the realm of the dead… A red head, a blue head and a yellow head… They can alternate and each one has a different voice and behavior…" Enzan described.

"… Neo Variable Sword!"

"Sword Press!"

"Crap."

"Hah! You can't hope to win against Sword Man – sama!" Sword Man proclaimed.

"That's the read head. Battle Chip, Golden Fist!" Enzan muttered.

"Take this!" Blues exclaimed.

"Great Sword!" A different voice exclaimed.

"The blue head…!" Enzan muttered.

"Gra~h!" Blues roared.

"Hah! The two slices generate a powerful tornado capable of defeating anyone!" The blue head exclaimed.

"Attack, Blues!" Enzan commanded.

"Yes, sir! Hra~h!"

"What! This guy can still move?" The blue head gasped.

"Take this! Golden Fist!"

"Wha! My right eye! I can't see through there!" The blue head cursed aloud.

"Hmpf." Blues sounded satisfied.

"Eye for an eye, is that yer policy?" A pitchy voice asked.

"The yellow head…" Enzan let out.

"Who knows?" Blues challenged.

"This guy…! Spiral Sword!"

"Wha! He's throwing the other two heads combined in an X shape at Blues! Dodge!" Enzan gasped.

"Damn! I failed…!" The yellow head cursed.

"Battle Chip, Cannon Ball!"

"Cannon Ball!"

"Grah! My chest…! Why, you…!" The yellow head cursed next.

"Not so strong anymore, Darkloid?" Blues taunted.

"Great Sword!"

"Area Steal!"

"Sword Press!" The blue head announced.

"What!" Enzan gasped.

"Uo~h! This guy generates a shockwave after jumping into the air and landing back using his body's sword…!" Blues cursed.

"Sonic Blade!" The read head announced.

"Grah! Now they use a small sword to create a shockwave…! Enzan – sama!" Blues called out.

"Gotcha! Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Dream Sword! Go~!"

"Dream Sword!"

"What!" The red head gasped.

There was the sound of an explosion and some guttural noises made by the read head before the sound of the Darkloid fleeing could be heard over the line.

"Phew… We did it somehow!" Enzan muttered.

"Yes, sir… I inflicted around 80% damage." Blues reported.

"Laika's Darkloid also fled after 80%... Maybe they're ordered to retreat once that level of damage has been reached?" Netto wondered.

"It's not crazy." Vadous muttered.

"It's not as crazy as Han Solo inventing new uses for the smuggling compartments of the _Millennium Falcon_." Omega joked as he walked into the room.

"You tapped into the line." Vadous guessed.

"Yeah. I was picked. So Spark Man and Sword Man showed up… I had a thrill with the guy back when we stormed the Darkloid castle back in the summer of 2005 to put an end to them."

"I see." Vadous calmly muttered.

"I'll go report to the Commissioner. Good morning." Enzan sounded exhausted.

"Later." Blues added.

"Whose turn will be now?" Saito wondered.

"Huh? Higure – san is calling. Guess it's his." Netto announced as the Link PET rang.

"Higure – san? I guess Number Man will force him to use the Rare Chips to win." Vadous looked amused.

"A~h! De masu~! Netto – kun, de masu! Terrible, de masu! That Stone Man Navi from the N1 Gran Prix is here, de masu~!" Higure exclaimed in a rush.

"Can you handle it, Higure – san?" Netto asked.

"Number Man is managing somehow, de masu, and Guts Man is helping, too, de masu, but…" He trailed off.

"Dekao actually went there?" Saito wondered.

"What… Did you two think Dekao – sama would waste a chance to get Bargain Day Chips?" Dekao's voice asked.

"Mega Guts Punch! De guts!"

"Dice Bomb!"

"Guoh! You lowlifes…! Stone Cube!" Stone Man roared.

"Stone Man again… The guy had already showed up back in the summer with Neo Gospel!" Netto groaned.

"And this time I'll prove I'm strong than you, Netto! Hah!" Dekao exclaimed.

"Try telling that to our Navi companions." Saito challenged.

"I'm gonna do that one day: just you wait!" Dekao proclaimed

"Guess Sigma will have a thrill…" Omega grinned.

"Yeah. No doubt." Vadous shrugged.

"Oh? We have public? Gentlemen! Please watch a new hero in the making: we can retire the rusty one!" Dekao exclaimed.

"Ooyama Dekao – kun… Can you even stand up to Blues?" Vadous asked him.

"That doesn't count, _Danna_!" Dekao growled.

"Sorry. But it does. This is reality." Vadous replied.

"Yeah! Reality as in _the Matrix_! Right?" Dekao laughed.

"My. He's cultured." Omega joked.

"Jeez. Don't play along: that's worse! And switch off that mood."

"Battle Chip, Drill Arm! De masu!"

"Battle Chip, Bronze Fist! Slot In!"

"Drill Arm!"

"Bronze Fist, de guts!"

"Guo~h! Laser!"

"Gattsu~!"

"Ah! Guts Man! Stand up!" Dekao gasped.

"Guess he was an easier target than Mr. Diet." Omega muttered with some sarcasm.

"Jeez. I prefer your serious persona." Vadous grumbled.

"Weren't you the one who said being stiff and serious the whole time was a waste of time, Boss?" Omega reminded him.

"I take that back." Vadous sighed in defeat.

"Heh, heh. 1 – 0. Don't worry: I just feel like it today of all days."

"Battle Chip, Triple Bomb! Slot In! De masu~!"

"Triple Bomb!"

There was an explosion sound followed by a heavy hit and something hitting the floor.

"Grah. That right arm sure hurts!" Number Man growled.

"Go, Guts Man! Program Advance! Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon! Hah!" Dekao exclaimed.

"Giga Cannon, de guts!" Guts Man exclaimed.

There was the sound of an explosion and some growling coming from Stone Man as well as heavy footsteps.

"Hah! Number Man put the Triple Bomb inside of the Drill Arm's hole and we've taken advantage of the hole to attack the insides! I know that core-like thing allows the guy to regenerate, so if we take it out…!" Dekao explained.

"Gu~h! Damage above 80%...! Code 333: tactical withdrawal!" Stone Man growled.

"Wha~t?" Dekao yelled in disbelief.

"The enemy has run away, guts." Guts Man reported.

"Good job!" Number Man congratulated.

"… Oh! Bravo, de masu! We saved Higureya, de masu! Oh? Wait! De masu… Dekao – kun… That of three years ago wasn't nice, de masu! You know what I mean! De masu!" Higure told him.

"Jeez. The Net Mobile Grand Prix…? The rules said it was legal! I'm off to have a sandwich!" Dekao grumbled.

"One day, when they make the new edition, I'll be settling the score like a shining man, de masu!" Higure announced.

"You aren't and you won't, Yamitarou. And that pose standing atop the desk is silly." Number Man flatly told him.

CRASH!

"De masu~…" Higure muttered.

Netto could see the ceiling of the store thus indicating that the PET had been left atop the counter.

"Did Higure – san fall behind the desk?" Saito asked.

"Yeah. He did." Number Man calmly replied.

"Heh, heh, heh. The _otaku_ curse strikes back." Omega chuckled.

"What _otaku_ curse?" Vadous frowned.

"Ask Kir Osh." Omega replied.

"That guy reads too many Spider Man comic books…" Vadous muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. He who laughs at the last laughs better." Omega chuckled and kept on sounding amused.

"So… Bomber Man is up next?" Netto tried to guess.

"Hmmm… Unless they bring out a copy Snake Man…" Saito muttered.

"What? Oh! True! Today's enemies names' began with the Alphabet S character… Is there any Darkloid we don't know about whose name also begins by S?" Netto asked.

"Star Man…" Omega muttered.

"Phone call… Yaito – chan." Netto muttered as the Link PET rang.

"Netto~! A Darkloid named Star Man is fighting Glyde! Tooru – kun and Ice Man are giving me a hand. Just that ya know. And since Enzan wants to send me to the _Naraku_, then I'll switch priorities no matter what daddy might say." Yaito giggled.

"Uh-oh." Both muttered.

"What?" Vadous frowned.

"In short: pick Hiwaka as her boyfriend." Omega summed up.

"Who's there?" Yaito questioned.

"Omega: the blonde red cool guy of the series." Omega joked.

"Ah! I remember having seen ya around. Listen up: this battle is mine and my boyfriend's stuff! Gotcha?" Yaito told him.

"Gotcha. I didn't have the intent of going out into the Cyber World, anyway!" Omega shrugged.

"So ya are in the real world using a Copy Roid. One day I'll invent a Copy Roid for dancing Navis. Tee, heh, heh." Yaito giggled.

"Intriguing."

"… Meteors!" Star Man's voice rang out.

"Glyde Cannon!"

"Blizzard!"

"Guh! Gah! Why, you…! How dare you!" Star Man cursed.

"That's what happens for messing with Gabcom, _baka _guy!" Yaito taunted him.

"I dunno what Gabcom means! I was looking for a thrill!" Star Man growled.

"Curious: a Darkloid using _boku_ as a personal pronoun… There was Bubble Man, but since the guy was the comic relief of the bunch…" Saito muttered with a hint of intrigue.

"Battle Chip, Straw Doll!"

"Battle Chip, Ice Cannon Ball!"

"Shooting Star Shower!" Star Man exclaimed.

There were some noises along with yells of pain and the sound of the Ice Cannon Ball hitting the ground: Star Man yelled as he was seemingly trapped inside of the mass of ice.

"Battle Chip, Elec Sword!"

"Kya~h!"

Star Man growled something and he seemingly stepped back while the other two closed in.

"I can still fight…! Meteors!"

"Blizzard!"

"Battle Chip, Bug Bomb!"

"Gra~h!"

Star Man uttered some guttural sounds before growling and muttering something undecipherable: he then apparently fled the scene.

"Damn. I just remember one more." Omega muttered.

"Yeah? Who do you mean?" Vadous looked over his right shoulder.

"Swallow Man! I guess he's gonna dare to show up and prove that "Neo Gospel" is the mastermind at work."

"If the guy shows up here I'll fry it to the BBQ!" Yaito laughed.

"Yaito – chan…" Tooru muttered.

"What's a BBQ, desu? Bill Board Quote?" Ice Man asked.

"No: bar – be –queue. It's a way of cooking things popular in Ameroupe and other countries." Glyde corrected.

"Well then… Tooru – kun! Not so fast. We've gotta talk." Yaito called out to him as she looked away from the camera.

"Hum. He was trying to run off the tree-house." Saito muttered.

"I'll leave you to settle it with Tooru – kun but don't pull his ears if you may, Yaito – chan." Netto told her.

"Sure. Enjoy the cold shower before the big game. Tee, heh, heh." Yaito improvised a joke.

"Huh… Cold shower…" Vadous muttered.

"Charles? Guess that Swallow Man showed up at the Justice Council HQ there on Densan City." Netto guessed after the PET rang yet again.

"Netto? Saito? Guess what's going on." Charles greeted.

"Swallow Man is over there." Omega guessed.

"Yeah. He's proving to be a headache, even. He wants to settle the score and is full of ego." Charles grumbled.

"Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! College of Charleston can't match up to my speed! Swallow Cutter! Glory to Twilight – sama, forever and ever! Heh, heh, hah, hah!" Swallow Man laughed.

"He's got some new silly humor too." Davis groaned.

"College of Charleston… Is there such a place?" Vadous wondered.

"Yeah, there is. Charleston, South Carolina. The 13th oldest college in Ameroupe… That's the place." Omega confirmed.

"Whoa." The twins whistled in surprise.

"So! Dave Bowman became a Net Navi, then! You're the guy's reincarnation, Davis EXE!" Swallow Man laughed.

"Dave Bowman…?" The twins wondered.

"_2001: A Space Odyssey_, a 1968 film by Stanley Kubrick… Look it up when you have time: it's a unique film. It's what kicked off the whole sci-fi film genre from the cheap productions to the large-scale ones including _Blade Runner_ and others." Vadous told them.

"Program Advance! Justice Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Golden… Vulcan!"

"Go~!" Davis exclaimed.

"No way!" Swallow Man gasped.

There were some groans of pain followed by the flapping of wings and some cursing.

"Swallow Drive! I won't go down so easily!"

"Hell's Burner!"

The attack seemingly met Swallow Man head-on but there was a noise, a yelp of surprise and then something hitting the ground with force followed by a groan.

"The jerk…! He lifted me and dropped me!" Davis cursed.

"So! It'd seem the Monolith has discarded your usefulness. Or more like you got bored of the stupid machine." Swallow Man taunted.

"Shaddup! You Vulture wannabe…" Davis grumbled.

"Vulture…? Hmpf. Die!" Swallow Man scoffed.

"Program Advance! Yoyo, Triple Slot In! Yoyo Blade!"

"Shit!" Swallow Man cursed.

There was a sound followed by what resembled a kick and some punches being delivered: Davis grumbled and returned to the offensive.

"Wanna kick? Wanna punch? Wanna hit your head?" Davis challenged in a rush.

"Die!" Swallow Man roared.

"Battle Chip, Tank Cannon!"

"Take this on! Tank Cannon!"

Swallow Man groaned and mumbled something else after he was hit.

"Shit. Farewell!" He cursed.

"Phew. Let's hope they'll end here and not bring out a Snake Man copy: this has been too much in less than one hour." Netto muttered.

"If they want to cut down our resources, then they're on the right track, even. This is turning serious." Saito grumbled.

"I've gotta agree on that. And if the other 4 come out then…"

"We'll have to work hard on the vaccine or else… We'll be in TROUBLE."


	11. Chapter 10: Search Man DS

**Chapter 10: Search Man DS**

15:23 PM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 23rd…

"… Boss. Have you started on the vaccine program?"

"Yeah, Omega. Its chances of preventing hijacking clock at 35% for the time being. But I need a higher rate: I can't risk it."

"Obviously."

Omega was talking with Vadous as he typed into the keyboard and seemed to be assembling a program.

"Don't you feel hot with the armor, anyway?" Omega pointed out.

"Well… Not really… I'm used to it… Maybe I shouldn't have put Tabasco in the _curry_…" Vadous muttered as he agitated his right hand to vent off.

"Ah. The twins told me they have an art museum visit next week: they're going to see a Jomon Period ceramics exhibition. I've already arranged for the security detail." Omega reported.

"Good job. I've started to receive some reports of hijacked Navis: the WWW Team has experienced it." Vadous announced.

"Zero did, too."

"Damn. Didn't you warn him?" Vadous grumbled.

"I did: he tried hiding in an unused Dimensional Converter but they found him nevertheless: Spark Man kept him busy before the program leeched into him and they both then fled." Omega explained.

"They play stalker, too…" Vadous muttered.

"So it'd seem. They must want to make us get nervous and do something reckless." Omega suggested.

"Bothersome Twilight. I'm going to make him regret this." Vadous hissed in an icy voice.

"Boss… A stress attack won't do us good. Cool it down." Omega told him.

"Grjtfx!" Vadous grumbled.

"By the way… We could try luring them into a trap by leaking rumors of a new Battle Chip which sweeps the ground with anything standing on it and be able to try to capture one of them for analysis." Omega suggested with a smile.

"Hmmm… It's not a bad plan. But let's wait a while: they'll likely be in need of you guys' potential, too." Vadous muttered.

There was a ring sound and one screen popped out to signal an incoming transmission.

"Laika – kun…? Patch it through!" Vadous wondered before issuing a command.

"Roger." Black Ace acknowledged.

"Mr. Vadous?" Laika asked.

"A new streak…?" Vadous guessed.

"Yes, sir. A copy of Thunder Man colored in black, green and yellow. It looks something taken out of a Neo – Impressionism canvas. It calls itself _Duplicate_ Thunder Man." Laika reported.

"… Scope Gun!"

"Elec Beam!" A voice similar to Thunder Man's rang out.

"Tell the guy hi and bye." Omega suggested with a grin.

"We'd love to but he's proving to be too fast and his attack power seems to have increased, too." Laika grumbled.

"_Cliché_!" Vadous grumbled.

"Yes, sir. There's no mistake about it." Laika agreed on it.

"This Thunder Man – sama will cause a blackout which will spread fear and terror across the city!" Duplicate Thunder Man exclaimed.

"Shut up. Satellite Ray!" Search Man scoffed.

"Hah. Your attacks merely tickle. Is that the best you can do, Sharo Nation Net Savior?" He taunted.

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"Mugen Vulcan!"

There were some sounds over the line before a loud snapping sound ran off followed by a thud sound of something hitting the ground with violence.

"Damn. This guy doesn't even feel the pain or what?" Laika cursed.

"Guess the one who ended on the ground was Search Man…" Omega muttered.

"He turned off the pain receptors, you say? Crap." Vadous muttered.

"Freeze Bullet! Search Grenade!"

Three or four explosions rang out along with a roar of agony which belonged to Duplicate Thunder Man: there was the thud sound caused by something hitting the ground with violence again.

"Huff… Huff… I got too confident and lowered the guard… But that was nothing! You haven't even drained 20% of my HP: I've got plenty of time to beat you up!" Duplicate Thunder Man exclaimed.

"Battle Chip, Lightning Rod!"

"Thunderbolt!"

The attack was seemingly nullified and returned to the source: there was the sound of frizzling and some unintelligible grumbling in the background made by Duplicate Thunder Man as he seemingly stepped back.

"Why, you…! You switched my attacks' polarity to be able to inflict damage to me!" He cursed.

"So I did." Laika put up a smug smile.

"This blue jerk is starting to piss me off… I'm going to go all out and stop playing!" Duplicate Thunder Man growled.

"Hmpf. That happened because you weren't being serious from the very start, fake." Search Man drily told him.

"Lion Thunder!"

"Heh. Gotcha." Laika grinned.

"What! _Kawarimi!_" Duplicate Thunder Man gasped.

"Freeze Bullet, Custom Bolt! Double Slot In!"

"No way!"

There was a sound of high voltage electricity being conducted through the ice and Duplicate Thunder Man growled something under his breath before it stopped.

"Damn. I've been drained about 70% of my HP…! I've only got another 10% window…!" Duplicate Thunder Man cursed.

"Give it up and tell us where your _Danna_ is at." Search Man commanded to him.

"Shit. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to show up in the monorail depot building… The system only has one entry and exit and that guy is blocking it off…!" Duplicate Thunder Man cursed aloud.

A giggle began to echo in the Cyber World coming out of nowhere: it sounded similar to Saito's own voice tune.

"Guess Twilight is in the mood to imitate giggles, but… Damn. I get it now!" Omega cursed aloud and made a grimace.

"Laika – kun! Run!" Vadous told him.

"Roger! Plug Out!"

There was a buzz sound and three of them gasped: they then heard the noise of the Time Space anomaly opening and Search Man gasped.

"Freeze Bullet!"

The attack seemingly did nothing as Search Man stepped back.

"Damn. It's locked over here, too!" He cursed.

"Hah! You fell for the trap!" Duplicate Thunder Man boasted.

"Uo~h!" Search Man roared.

"Search Man!" Laika gasped.

"Gu… Gua~h! Gra~h! Lai… ka… sa… ma…!" Search Man uttered between groans of pain.

There were some more sounds and then there was a thud of Search Man collapsing on the ground: Duplicate Thunder Man laughed and seemingly jumped inside of the Time Space distortion as it closed: there were two beep sounds and Search Man was apparently transferred back inside of his Link PET.

"Damn." Laika cursed.

"We got tricked! They really want to make sure their prey doesn't escape, don't they?" Omega growled.

"Yeah. At least we can be glad this won't happen to Blues and Saito: Twilight isn't that imbecile to try to recreate Umbra or Legato." Vadous grumbled.

"I'll go to the Science Labs for a check-out… Good afternoon." Laika grumbled.

"Later."

The line was disconnected and Vadous leant back on his armchair while bringing the right hand to his forehead.

"… I'm going to my room. You're in charge. Try to see if you can find a way of improving the vaccine program. I calculate another two to three days to complete it, anyway." Vadous told Omega.

"Roger."

Vadous stepped out at a quick pace while Omega sat down on the chair.

_Bothersome mice. _

15:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I bow loyalty to Lord Sidier as my Commander – in – Chief. Please grant me an order.

"Good."

A copied Search Man was kneeling in front of Sidier.

He was colored crimson and his hair was black while his eyes' irises kept on being red.

He had some purple patterns around his arms, legs, and chest: his emblem had been replaced by the _chuusei _(loyalty) _Kanji_ colored blood red.

The _heishi_ (soldier) _Kanji_ was also drawn on his helmet's forehead.

"Go to your quarters. You will be Field Commander for all DS Navis and Darkloids. Do you understand?" Sidier commanded.

Search Man DS bowed before standing up and heading off the room by closing the door.

"Heh, heh, heh. Emperor S – sama's plan is proceeding smoothly! They want so badly to find those guys that they won't even question the existence of another party altogether! What bothersome foolish beings! Whatever… They will realize their foolishness one day or another… Let's keep on with the strategy! Heh, heh, heh." He muttered aloud.

He then gasped and looked towards the door: he ran towards it and brusquely opened it before checking the corridor.

"… I suddenly felt like someone was eavesdropping. I've tried IR and X Ray, too… Weird. Maybe I'm turning paranoid just by reading James Bond's novels…" He muttered while frowning.

He closed the door again and sat down on a chair before bringing out his sword and checking it out.

"I guess it's eager to taste some fresh blood. But I'll wait until I'm given permission. I could always put on a disguise and pretend to be an agent of Twilight who wants to provoke them… Heh, heh, heh."

16:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hiya~!"

"Crap."

"Surprised?"

"Terrified."

"Tee, heh, heh."

"Not again…!"

H showed up on the throne room to the obvious exasperation of Emperor S, who sounded defeated.

"Look. If you wanna play "Empress" then go ahead and I'll go camp at the Death Temple. But please don't bring another of your singles out to torture us." Emperor S told her with obvious defeatism.

"Tee, heh, heh. You've always been the type to allow others to set their opinion instead of imposing yours, S – chan." H giggled.

Emperor S merely stepped down from the throne and signaled it with his right hand before heading off the throne room: H climbed into it and engaged a holographic screen displaying a list.

"Hmmm… Not bad… Sidier – chan is managing to make the ranks of Net Navis and Darkloids grow. And with that soldier – kun over there, he'll have an easier time setting up sorties. Tee, heh, heh. Ah. I wonder why he didn't send Duplicate Snake Man out… Ah. He hadn't copied the guy yet, it'd seem." H muttered with a giggle.

She then brought out her guitar and examined it before she began making those loud ear-piercing sounds for some seconds as she seemingly got ready for another "single".

"Huh? What's this? A message… Oh. I see. S has already picked the energy broadcasting system to go to the Death Temple. What? B headed over to the Fortress Temple, too? Crap. They were two steps ahead. And I'm not gonna perform sans a public, either!"

She mumbled something and distractedly kept on tuning the guitar as she seemingly thought.

"I can't make Sidier leave all of a sudden, either, or the grace of his role would be ruined. Hmmm… But he'll come to report sooner or later… It's a matter of waiting. Tee, heh, heh, heh! Wait 'till ya realize how your precious Lord left ya alone to face me, Sidier! I'll be haunting ya in your dreams, too!" She muttered with a hint of annoyance only to then switch to a better mood.

"… Achoo!"

Sidier rubbed his nose and looked around.

"What… Someone is badmouthing me? Jeez. I guess H – dono is up to something and I'm afraid Her Grace will be in charge when I go report next time around." He muttered with a hint of defeatism.

He then stood up and exited the main room to then enter his quarters: he made sure to check all walls and cracks.

"No listening programs… Then again… Who'd do that? I doubt any of the Darkloids doing that. Maybe Empress DS…? I wouldn't be surprised but I won't do anything about it. Emperor S – sama says he wants them to test their intelligence, so…" He muttered in a serious tone of voice.

He shut the door and locked before sitting down on a chair and bringing out an e – book from a bookcase titled _Star Wars: Death Star. Michael Reaves and Steve Perry_.

"Heh, heh, heh. This book is getting interesting. Let's keep on reading the chapter I was at last time. And this is just getting hotter, audience!"

"OUCH! Sword Man! You moron! You cut my back!"

"My bad, Spark Man. I wasn't watching."

"This jerk…!"

_And let's hope they don't start fighting each other to death either: now that would be boring to begin... Or maybe it'd be silly. Yeah. Guess so…_

16:23 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Great. Search Man got copied, too. This is starting to spiral outta control!"

"Crap."

Netto grumbled as he read an email using the computer: Saito, who'd been working on the homework, looked up and made a grimace.

"I guess we'll have to get up to date and fight them. They won't try to copy us 'cause Twilight is not that stupid." Netto told him.

"We should try asking Enzan for a helping hand, too. Let's go back to the _Golden Duo_ days and teach them that we're not powerless." Saito suggested with a sigh.

"Yeah. Guess it can't be helped!" Netto agreed on it.

He stood up and entered the closet: he brought out a box full of Battle Chips and began to check on them.

"We can always sell some of the repeated or unnecessary ones to Higure – san and get newer ones in exchange."

"But at least they won't be as intense as in VR simulations. Speaking of those… We should try to set the enemies to be tougher and get used to the real ones' level of strength." Saito suggested.

"Deal. If we could beat Beast Man thrice, we can beat these guys, too. But I hope none of them are over-powered to the level of that weird Apollon Flame: that guy was a nightmare!" Netto looked towards him with a worried look.

"This not an "incident" anymore: it's a conflict. And it's our duty as Net Saviors to put an end to it, Netto – kun." Saito rallied.

"True. Then… Let's fight together until the end, Saito – niisan!" Netto exclaimed.

"The Honorable Youth of Balance…" A voice began to ring out of Netto's Link PET.

"No way… Sigma patched us live to Dragon – san?" He groaned.

"The jerk…" Saito groaned next.

"The Honorable Warrior of Night and Dawn…"

"What, you mean me?" Daratsu asked on the background.

"And The Honorable Foster Brother of Morning and Sunset…"

"That's me?" Kuro Kaze sounded baffled.

"The Man With Vision Of The Invisible…"

"Oi, oi! Is that me?" Dr. Lartes complained.

"What's the meaning of THAT?" Netto wondered.

"Guess he means that he can use a microscope to see normally invisible things…" Saito tried to guess.

"The Tamer of All Chariots…"

"OI! I'm but a car mechanic!" Kir Osh protested.

"The Great Supreme Noble Brave Leader…"

"Damn it…! Dragon…! See! I'm not in the mood for those! GO TO THE KITCHEN! CONFUCIUS SAYS YOU GOTTA MAKE SOME TEA~!"

Hurried footsteps rang out and everyone sighed in defeat: Sigma's chuckle could be heard in a low tone of voice followed by a groan by Blood Shadow and some grumbling from Omega.

"HAS THIS SHIP GONE MAD OR WHAT?" Vadous demanded.

"W-well… Dunno…" Kir Osh trailed off.

SLAM!

"Lovely. Vadous – san got annoyed." Netto sighed in defeat.

"Sigma…! You messed it up…!"

Both groaned in defeat and annoyance…


	12. Chapter 11: Cavalry recruits

**Chapter 11: Cavalry recruits**

13:56 PM (Japan Time), Thursday December the 27th…

"… So? What's going on lately? Do you know anything about that purple gas thing?"

Hinoken was talking the twins inside of Maha Ichiban's: both were sitting on the table closest to the entrance: two glasses of apple juice were set on the table.

"Neo Gospel's back at it." Netto sighed.

"Freeze Man's back at it! Good! I'll annihilate them!" Hinoken grinned.

"Not again…!" Saito groaned.

"Crap." Fire Man grimly muttered.

"This time around… I'll fucking defeat Freeze Man! You hear me, Hikari Netto? Fire Man will slaughter the guy!" Hinoken bragged.

"I wonder about that, Hinoken." Maha Jarama muttered from behind the counter as he cleansed cups by hand.

"_Oh my God_! Hinoken! Jeez!" Count Elec complained while rolling his eyes.

"Trouble, trouble…" Iroaya Madoi grimly muttered.

"Shaddup! You two: what was that purple gas Freeze Man's club is using, huh?" Hinoken snapped before questioning the twins.

"A hacker: a black hat." Netto simply replied.

"A HACKER! _OH MY GOD_!" Count Elec looked pale.

"Shut the hell up, Elec – hakushaku! You scared us when you quarreled with Gauss Magnets over that Chip left behind by Dr. Wily – sama three years ago!" Hinoken roared.

"_What_! _You_ want a _fight_? _Wrestle_!" Count Elec snapped back with his strong English accent.

"Bring it on!" Hinoken challenged.

"Trouble, trouble…" Madoi lifted her eyebrows.

"Both are unstoppable." Maha grimly muttered.

"The culprit is at work amongst us!" Magic Man exclaimed.

"No way…" Elec Man looked skeptical.

"Tee, heh, heh! Who knows?" Colored Man teased.

"Crap." Fire Man grimly muttered.

"There, Netto – kun: an explosion." Saito made a smug smile.

"Oi, oi…" Netto looked taken aback.

"YOU USELESS SHOW-OFF! - _WHAT_! _YOU_ ARE THE USELESS _SHOW-OFF_! _YOU_ TRIED TO DESTROY THE GOSPEL VIRUS _FACTORY_ ALONE _AND_ FIRE MAN WAS ATTACKED BY FREEZE MAN! - SHADDUP! THE GREAT ME IS THE _DANNA_! - HAH! _DANNA_, _YOU SAY_? _LAUGH AND GROW FAT_! - YOU MOTTO THIEF! - _WHAT! __MOTTO THIEF_! _ME_! _HOW DARE YOU_! - STEP ASIDES! - RUN! - SHADDUP! - _NO_! _FIGHT_! - FINE! COME! - _BY GEORGE! I_ WON'T LOSE!"

The two of them had reached the "shouting" stage in their vocal conflict and everyone looked towards them with unimpressed faces: they obviously had been expecting it to happen at any moment now.

"I told ya, Netto – kun." Saito grinned.

"Oi, oi… That face is scary!" Netto protested.

"I've become serious." Saito grinned again.

"Jeez. That doesn't look like you." Netto grumbled.

"Who knows?" Saito teased.

"You know it!" Netto grumbled.

"TAKE THAT! - OF! EAT THIS! - WHY, YOU…! - T-THIS JERK! - YE JERK! - _YOUR AUNT_! - YOUR GRANDMA! - FREEZE MAN'S CURSE! - MAGNET MAN'S HATE! - HEAT MAN'S PLOT!"

"What plot? Heat Man became Fire Man again almost 3 years ago by now, ya know…" Netto sighed.

"ELEC MAN'S _BAKA_ FACE~! - _SHUT UP_! - SHADDUP! - _PUNCH_! - _HIT_! - HAMMER MAN! - PUNK MAN! - REDBEARD WANNABE! - ELVIS PRESLEY WANNABE! - _PYROMANIAC_! - ELECTRICIST! - _TERROR_! - FEAR! - WHY, YOU…! - COME! - RUN! - T-THIS GUY!"

Count Elec and Hinoken exchanged some punches while cursing at each other: Saito looked amused, Netto gulped and the other two sighed in defeat.

"_DEVIL_! RED – BEARD _DEVIL_! - YELLOW – HAIR MONSTER! - DEMON GOD! - DEMON BEAST! - _GRUNT_! - _BAKA_! - _GO TO HELL_! - GO TO THE _NARAKU_! - WATER! - STONE! - _YOU'RE FIRED_! - GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE~!"

Both of them began to roll across the ground while delivering blows and kicks to each other.

TATATARITARI!

A _trumpet_ rang out and both men gasped: they suddenly stood up in a firm manner.

"The cavalry has arrived! Firm!" Hinoken commanded while trying to look serious.

"_Oh_! _My god_! We look horrible!" Count Elec complained.

"Hinoken, Count Elect... _When _did you join the_ cavalry_?" Madoi asked while rolling her eyes.

"Huh? That's…" They both trailed off.

The restaurant's door opened.

"_Irasshai_!" Maha greeted with a smile.

Charles stepped in: he looked like he was about to explode in laughter seeing how he was covering his mouth with his left hand: Saito looked amused while Netto frowned.

"Ah. Mr. Charles! Welcome to Maha Ichiban." Maha greeted with a reverence.

"Hullo, Charles!" Netto greeted.

"Hey! Charles! Over here." Saito called out while signaling the empty seat to his right.

"An apple juice…" Charles requested while hardly keeping his laughter at bay.

"By the way! Mr. Hinoken and Count Elec… We didn't know you belonged to the cavalry." Davis appeared with the holographic display: he, too, looked on the verge of exploding in laughter.

"Huh… But… When the trumpet rings out… The troops stand firm! I saw it on a movie!" Hinoken argued.

"_But_ the cavalry became extinct _more_ than 50 _years_ ago!" Count Elec argued next.

"Then… Who played the trumpet?" Hinoken looked baffled.

"Hah, hah, hah!"

Charles finally exploded into laughter, and so did Davis: the twins, Madoi and Maha also laughed.

"I did it! And you acted like you were real recruits!" Charles exclaimed while laughing.

"You both had an antecessor in the cavalry!" Davis teased.

"Hum… That's… Eh…" Count Elec trailed off.

"Eh… It was…" Hinoken was at a loss for words.

"That guy!" Count Elec suddenly pointed an accusing finger at Hinoken.

"What the hell! You were the one who almost got killed on that zeppelin 3 years ago!" Hinoken pointed an accusing finger at Count Elec.

"There's no relation with that, Hinoken!" Count Elec protested.

TATATARITARI!

"ROGER, COLONEL!" They both stood firm and saluted.

The six persons exploded into laughter again.

"Hah, hah, hah! You fell for it _again_!" Madoi laughed.

"Mr. Charles is a professional." Maha grinned.

"GRRR! STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THAT STUPID RECORDING OF YOURS!" Both men shouted at Charles and Davis.

"Fine! But… You'd make good recruits…" Charles held up his palms in defense and smiled.

"TOSS THAT!" They simultaneously protested.

"This…?" Charles asked as he held one of the glasses up.

"NO! NOT THAT!" They roared.

"You mean this?" Charles held a small square ceramic platter.

"NOT THAT, EITHER!" They yelled.

"Or maybe… _This_?"

He took out a coin, placed it on his right hand, and threw it on the air: he caught it and covered it for a second before he uncovered it and whistled in surprise.

"Tails! I must be fortunate!" He grinned.

"WHY, YOU…!" Both roared.

"Mr. Charles: the apple juice." Maha announced.

"_Thank you_! Here." Charles grinned.

He handed Maha a bank note and he headed over to the register to produce the exchange: both adults looked about to jump into Charles and rip him apart, Saito made that strange grin of his and Netto looked slightly nervous: Charles paid no heed and drank the juice.

"Ah… Good stuff… Well then… Let's go." He grinned.

"To Charleston College we go!" Davis joked.

"Jeez." Charles muttered.

Charles and the twins headed towards the entrance door: Charles suddenly stopped and turned around while making a broad grin.

"By the way! Mr. Hinoken! They wouldn't have allowed that beard in the cavalry!" Charles warned.

Charles ducked as Hinoken threw him a book about _yoga_: he laughed and ran out with the twins.

"THAT BOTHERSOME GUY! NEXT TIME I'M GONNA CHALLENGE HIM TO A NET BATTLE!" He roared and pointed an accusing finger at the street door while looking about to explode.

"Oh boy…" Madoi muttered.

"Hinoken. That person is above your power level." Maha warned.

"What did ya say?" Hinoken growled.

"Che! That guy is from the _famous_ Justice Council! You stand 0 chances of winning! _Take that_!" Count Elec grinned.

"Why, you…!" Hinoken roared.

"Trouble, trouble…" Fire Man grimly muttered.

"The enemy's curse has been engaged." Magic Man muttered.

"Tee, heh, heh. This is going to be funny~!" Colored Man giggled.

"It can't be…" Elec Man looked skeptical.

"FREEZE MAN! COME OUT! I'LL FUCKING DEFEAT YOU LOWLIFE~! THE GREAT ME IS INVICIBLE~!" Hinoken roared.

"Trouble, trouble…" Everyone else muttered.

Hinoken ran off while the others sighed in defeat…

14:14 PM (Japan Time)…

"… By the way… Charles. Did that investigation took you a lot of time to wrap up?"

"Huh? Ah. Yeah. It wasn't easy."

"I suspected so!"

"Here comes Mr. See – it – all."

The twins, Charles and Davis were chatting while walking down the street towards the twins' house: a discrete green Toyota car was following them at a respectful distance and two persons were onboard: none of the four seemed to mind it.

"The TV was very vague in what they did…" Netto brought up.

"Ah. I guess the police didn't want to say much, but… They were trafficking marijuana and similar stuff with the complicity of some bribed harbor officials… They then sold them in disco parties 'cause there's always a public wanting "stuff" to allow them to keep on partying until they closed or the sun came out." Charles admitted.

"They must lack criteria." Saito muttered.

"Guess so…" Davis shrugged.

"Oh! Yeah. Let's pit Hinoken against Captain Sommerston: a pyromaniac against a perfectionist! What do you think?" Charles switched topics.

"Oh… Mutual annihilation…" Saito grinned.

"Yeah. And some _Jeet Kune Do_ along the way: Hinoken will be beaten to the last of hair of his beard!" Netto grinned next.

"And Frederick would claim "show me your moves"!" Davis joked while looking amused.

"Frederick… It sounds too out of character! I know he looks up to Captain Falcon from _F-Zero_ but…" Charles protested.

"Did ya say something, Charleston?"

"Forget it, Dave: I know the Monolith wants you to inspect Saturn's composition next." Charles grinned at him.

"We still have to see that movie… Maybe we'll get a chance when the weekend." Saito brought a hand to his chin.

"I'm sure it'll be worth it." Netto looked eager.

"But what I quoted is from the novels, mind you. Some parts obviously differ with the film. But go ahead and enjoy it, anyway. And you saw that Chip we used in the summer: if Twilight sticks out his hide we'll use it to catch the guy." Charles invited them.

"Charleston College's headmaster wants to sue you for making up the Charles College." Davis laughed.

"Very original." Charles drily told him.

"Oho. Wait. Not so fast. What was that motto you made up…? Ah, yeah, I remember. Morgangantz. Charles Morgangatz." Davis joked next.

"That's rip-off from James Bond!" Charles looked exasperated.

"Heh, heh. I'm full of rounds today." Davis warned.

"He's got five Jokers and three Aces in both sleeves to be able to win in a streak." Saito joked.

"No. He's got a portable mirror to make ugly guys faint upon seeing their own reflections." Netto suggested.

"Who knows?" Davis teased.

"If Charleston won't go to the College, then… The College will go to Charleston." Saito made up a joke.

"Ya could patent it." Netto suggested.

"If those guys were aiming to lower our good mood, then they're failing in a totally silly manner." Davis summarized.

"They're outdated and they'll eventually run out of apple juice!" Charles came up with a joke, too.

14:31 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmpf. Laugh while you can."

Sidier was looking at some live footage of the group laughing while walking down the street with a smug smile on his face.

"I'm just having the Darkloids and DS Navis train to reach a higher resistance: I'll make it harder for you guys to be able to defeat them in battle. Despair and anger will soon rule over your flesh!" He muttered with obvious evil.

He suddenly turned around and looked around his quarters: he opened the door and looked out into the corridor.

"Huh? Hmmm…"

Some battle noises could be heard at a distance: Sidier slowly and calmly examined everything before shutting the door.

"I can't stop getting this feeling! I should really try to talk it with H – dono but she simply wants me to endure her "singles"…! I'd prefer B – dono to be in charge for some days, truth to be told!" He muttered with some frustration on his voice.

He sighed and sat down while leaning his elbows on his hips and his jaw on his hands: he seemed resigned.

"Calm down, Sidier… Or else I'll look like a fool to Emperor S – sama. This is a unique chance to prove my skills to my Lord and I don't intend on failing at all! I'll see to the end of the experiment." He muttered while closing his eyes.

He then opened them again and drew his sword: he made a cut to the inactive Navi dummy and then proceeded to make some more of them varying in depth, length and orientation: he seemed to enjoy the experience and stopped to lick his blade from time to time. He then stopped and let the wounds heal before making a large grin.

"Yeah. I needed to discharge this feeling. Well then… My blade will soon taste the blood of the so-called "hero"… Heh, heh, heh."

"Oi, Snake Man! Join the "S Club" spear-headed by Commander Search Man and Lord Sidier!" Spark Man's voice called out.

"Hisss… Why not… Hisss…"

"So? Are you Nagini's reincarnation?" Star Man joked.

"DAMN YOU~!" He hissed.

"Star Man… You messed it up!" Stone Man grumbled.

"Hah! Take that!" Sword Man's read head mocked.

"Fool!" The blue head laughed.

"Silly!" The yellow head taunted.

"You guys! Behave!" Search Man DS' voice commanded.

"Oh boy…" Sidier rolled his eyes.

"Too bad that Swallow Man guy wouldn't join us… Maybe we need to invent some other Navis with "S"?" Star Man joked.

"Jeez. Quit the silly stuff and train!" Search Man DS fumed.

"_Hai_~…" They grumbled.

"Phew. Really… "S Club"… Let's hope that no – one thinks the "S" stands for "Slave" as in "Slave & Master"…"

"Boom! Boom I go!"

"Shaddup, Bomber Man! Train!"

"That guy doesn't seem reliable. Maybe we should be on the look-out to see if we need to dispose of them… And we _did_ rescue Beast Man, Desert Man and Flash Man from the Navi Prison… They're the "reset" versions Twilight granted to some guys in the summer… I gotta be on the look-out because the guy could show up around here too…"

"Let's go boom and stone, Stone Man! Hah, hah, hah!"

_Shut up already and do us a favor, Bomber Man…! What a dude!_


	13. Chapter 12: Price of betrayal

**Chapter 12: Price of betrayal**

08:57 AM (Japan Time), Saturday December the 29th…

"… Lion Head!"

"Custom Sword!"

"Hah!"

"Damn."

Blues was facing Desert Man somewhere in the Cyber World: the ground was filled with sand thus recreating a desert - like scenery: Desert Man sank into it when Blues tried to jump and strike him: he had to land on the ground and look around.

"Shit. A bulldozer goes berserk in a construction site and the culprit had to be this guy of all ones." He cursed.

"Damn. We'll defeat this guy!" Enzan growled.

"Ho, ho, ho… Can you do that, Net Saviors? Great Lion Head!" Desert Man's ominous voice rang out of nowhere.

Blues saw it coming so he jumped into the air: the Great Lion Head suddenly circled around and came from the back: Blues gasped and dropped into the ground but the Great Lion Head seemed to be following him.

"Take this!" He growled.

He sliced it on half and it was deleted: Desert Man's right hand emerged from beneath him and gripped him.

"Grah!" He groaned.

"Ho, ho, ho… Weak! That level of power can't defeat THE Desert Man – sama~! Ho, ho, ho! Delete~!" He laughed.

"Area Steal! Ice Cannon Ball!" Enzan announced.

"What the…!" He gasped.

Blues warped and threw the Ice Cannon Ball at Desert Man: he roared as his body froze up and he was trapped inside of the ice: Blues landed on the ground and sighed in relief.

"Blues. We'll take this guy to the Science Labs: it's our only way of finding out the hideout of Twilight and "KO"..." Enzan commanded.

"Roger, Enzan – sama."

"I won't let you." A voice rang out.

Three sonic booms came out of nowhere and hit Blues because he'd lowered the guard: he was pushed into the ground and someone dropped in.

The opponent was a copy of Zero colored navy blue and black: his hair had been colored blood red and his eyes were purplish.

His emblem had been replaced by the word _konton_ (Chaos) and he had the _Kanji_ for _kishi_ (swordsman) painted black set on his forehead.

He kept on making those "breathing" noises.

"Shit. Duplicate Zero…!" Enzan cursed.

"Hmpf."

Duplicate Zero drew a metallic-colored sword and jumped towards the mass of ice inside of which Desert Man was trapped at: he plunged it into the ice and it shattered to free Desert Man.

"Zero! _Good timing_!" He laughed.

Duplicate Zero suddenly plunged his sword into Desert Man's forehead and Desert Man howled as he recoiled: he then built up black energy on his right hand, closed it to form a fist, and plunged it through Desert Man's body: it began to glow as white streaks of light jumped out.

"Y-you lowlife…!" Desert Man roared.

"Hmpf. The punishment for treason is deletion. Wander the Reverse Cyber World forever!" He exclaimed.

"Guo~h!" Desert Man roared.

Duplicate Zero warped away as Desert Man suddenly exploded and left a crater behind where he'd been standing at: almost no data of him was left behind afterwards.

"What? Desert Man betrayed you lowlifes?" Blues gasped.

"Hmpf! Coming out without permission from Freeze Man – sama… I was ordered to delete this traitor. This is proof that we are serious. That guy wanted to fight you out of grudge. Personal reasons aren't allowed in our organization: obey or die." Duplicate Zero scoffed as he hovered into the air and looked down towards Blues.

"Desert Man carried a bomb inside of his body: he wouldn't have exploded otherwise because he wasn't materialized!" Enzan guessed aloud.

"Correct. Fail – safe: only those trustable and committed are allowed to remove it. After all, these Darkloids and other Duplicates of lesser rank are mere tools to test you guys." Duplicate Zero replied.

"Test us? This is a war!" Blues growled.

"Wrong. It's an experiment. Will you really be the Net Saviors you claim to be or mere idiots moved by revenge, hatred, grudge or other _Dark Side_ emotions? This is the point of this experiment." Duplicate Zero exposed.

"I find that hard to believe given Twilight's behavior. Or are you trying to play us for fools?" Enzan told him with obvious skepticism.

"Hmpf. Of course. The only way to test you guys is by being serious. We won't fool around. And Freeze Man – sama is the one who's eager to test out if you're worthy foes or foes who are easily played upon by some device or another." Duplicate Zero shrugged.

"Then come and fight!" Blues challenged.

"My orders don't include that. Farewell!" He scoffed.

"Shit." Enzan growled.

09:13 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Zero DS. So?"

"Mission complete. Lord Sidier."

Zero DS was kneeling in front of Sidier: his color scheme had changed now that he was inside of the base.

He was now painted black and his hair was of a white color: he had blood red patterns around his body and his eyes were colored purple instead.

His sword had intricate circuitry-like patterns over its surface.

"Good job. We can't allow a foolish Darkloid to ruin the purpose of this experiment: we must make them believe that Twilight and "KO" are the true culprits at work." Sidier grinned.

"Yes, sir. Please grant me orders." Zero DS bowed.

"Go to your quarters: I'll plan the sorties for today. Make sure to spread talk like I'd personally gone and deleted that traitor: fear will take a hold of the others and will bind them to obey." Sidier commanded.

"Roger."

Zero DS walked out at a military-like pace of the main room: Sidier brought up a holographic screen with some CCTV footage of various spots there and there.

"Let's pick a suitable location. Heh, heh, heh. Net Saviors! We won't commit any more mistakes. Let fear rule your bodies! Huh? Ah!"

He spotted Yamato Man and Cloud Man exploring the spot where Desert Man had been deleted at and looking surprised.

"Bodily bombs, huh? Maybe we should've thought of that."

"Hmmm… Maybe…" Yamato Man shrugged.

"Let's go report to Freeze Man – sama and the _Danna_…"

"Fine. Let the campaign continue! Heh, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh!"

09:37 AM (Japan Time)

"… Someone calls us in purpose to this cold storage plant… There has to be a water or ice Navi or Darkloid in here."

"Obviously, Laika – sama."

Laika was standing inside of a large corridor: cold storage chambers' doors were set at both sides of it: he glanced around and spotted one control panel which was frizzling.

"Bingo. Plug In! Search Man, Transmission!"

Search Man entered the system and found it full of ice: he began scanning and noticed a figure standing atop the Core Block.

"Enemy aura: confirmed." He reported.

"Hyu~h! You fell for the trap, Net Savior!" A voice rang out.

The figure jumped and landed in front of Search Man.

"I'm Cold Man – sama: and this place is _Field Power Bonus_ to the great me, Net Savior! Hyu~h!" He exclaimed.

"Hmpf. My guess was correct, then." Laika muttered.

"I'll turn ya into _ice candy_ right here and now! Ice Cube!" Cold Man laughed.

"Scope Gun!"

He shot an Ice Cube at Search Man: he merely aimed and shot through it to hit Cold Man: instead, a second Ice Cube was shattered on his place, thus surprising him.

"What? A Double…?" He gasped.

"Hyu~h! Iceberg Press!"

Search Man gasped and spotted Cold Man dropping from above while having compacted in another form: he crashed against the ground with force and left a crater on it: a log appeared on Search Man's place.

"What!" Cold Man gasped.

"Battle Chip, Custom Bolt! Slot In!" Laika announced.

"Custom Bolt!"

The attack hit Cold Man and he was electrocuted: he smoked and stepped back while cursing under his breath.

"Hyu~h! That was nothing! White Breath!"

"Battle Chip, Super Vulcan! Slot In!"

Search Man jumped into the air as Cold Man opened his chest compartment doors and shot a mass of snow out: he bombarded the compartment with the Super Vulcan rounds and Cold Man howled as he stepped back.

"Damn! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath! White Breath!"

He began shooting in a row: Search Man dodged them with ease because Cold Man was not aiming properly and kept on shooting Super Vulcan rounds inside of his body.

"Damn! I got angry and I've lost 60% of my HP! But I've still got another 30% margin to go! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube! Ice Cube!"

He began to shoot Ice Cube after Ice Cube but Search Man could easily dodge them and attack Cold Man's body: the wounds inflicted were minor but were accumulating.

"Shit! I've only got another 8% of margin! Why am I losing in a place with _Field Power Bonus_?" He cursed.

"Because you yourself made that up: there's no such thing. And you picked a bad guy to mess with: I'm from Sharo Nation and this is a small breeze." Laika grinned at him.

"Why, you~…!" Cold Man hissed.

"Battle Chip, Thunder Ball! Slot In!"

"Thunder Ball!"

"What!"

The Thunder Ball hit him as he opened his chest compartment and electrocuted his whole body: he stepped back and kept on growling under his breath.

"Damn! I've lost 92% of my HP! This is above the ordered limits! I've gotta pull back!" He growled.

"Wrong." An ominous voice replied.

Duplicate Zero suddenly warped in front of Cold Man and did the same thing he'd done with Desert Man: he plunged the sword into the forehead and then gripped the bomb program inside of Cold Man before warping atop the Core Block.

"You lowlife~! Hyu~h!" Cold Man roared.

He blew up and the explosion pushed Search Man back and had him land hard into the ground: Duplicate Zero merely folded his arms.

"Fools who disobey rules and don't do good job don't deserve a second chance: we learned that from the Nebula crisis." He announced.

"Shit. They're even killing themselves…" Search Man cursed.

"Look at the bright side of it: there'll be lesser enemies to worry about at this rate." Laika drily told him.

"Hah. You're fond of sarcasm, it'd seem. They say Sharo Nation people have some black humor. Like in that joke in which a guy shouts "Gorbachev is an idiot" and he then gets arrested not out of hooliganism but because of revealing _state secrets_." Duplicate Zero sounded amused by now.

"I knew that one." Laika grumbled.

"You knew there was gonna rain." Duplicate Zero joked.

"Why won't your masters come out?" Search Man questioned.

"They have no need to: they already proved the level of their power back in the summer! Demon Tribe Chief Freeze Man – sama is a good leader: he knows how things must be done like." Duplicate Zero replied while shrugging.

"Freeze Man now calls himself "Demon Tribe Chief"…?" Laika frowned.

"Hmpf. Twilight – sama is the Demon King, so… He was humble and recognized his place." Duplicate Zero scoffed.

"Face me!" Search Man challenged.

"No… You're one of the main cast guys. Your role is to stay onscreen and provide entertainment. That's why I can't go all out on you. If I do get permission to battle you I'll be forced to hold back. But it's not like I'd care, either! Orders are absolute: didn't you say that back when the Control X incident?" Duplicate Zero sounded amused again.

"Damn." Search Man cursed.

"_No pain_, _no gain_… Farewell!"

He escaped the area while laughing aloud and Search Man hissed something under his breath.

"What a waste of time." Laika cursed.

"I apologize." Search Man bowed.

"It's not your fault. Let's go back to the Net Police HQ." Laika sighed in defeat and looked resigned.

"Roger."

Laika pressed the plug-out button and then placed the Link PET on its place while slapping his forehead.

"This is crazy: this guy is going to show up and kill all of the Darkloids and Navis out of orders… How can we stop that?" He muttered.

He seemed to feel a shiver go down his spine…

09:57 AM (Japan Time)…

"… "Fireworks Factory Powder Inc."… This is the place?"

"According to the email…"

Netto was standing in front of the factory building's outer perimeter security gates and looking at its sign: he didn't seem to mind a navy blue Hyundai parked nearby with two persons onboard.

"Gunpowder… Fireworks… I'm afraid I know the Darkloid waiting inside of this place." Netto grimly muttered.

"Yeah. I get that same feeling, too." Saito muttered.

The doors buzzed and automatically opened, so Netto ran inside of the compound: one of the car's occupants stepped down and followed him without Netto minding: both of them entered the main room and found a screen displaying a red arrow towards the right: a door opened and Netto and the agent stepped into what had the looks of a powder barrel storage room.

"Shit." Netto cursed.

"Mr. Netto. This room looks insecure." The agent argued.

"Let's get outta here!" Saito rallied.

The door was suddenly closed and electronically locked: the agent cursed and tried to open it while a familiar voice rang out.

"Today you lowlife will die here, brat!" The voice proclaimed.

"I wonder about that! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

Rock Man entered the system and quickly drew the Rock Buster to shoot two old-fashioned fuse bombs thrown at him: they exploded and the culprit became visible.

"I thought as much! You! Bomber Man!" He made a grimace.

"Hah! My trap is perfect. This place is my climax!" He laughed aloud and sounded sure of it.

"Battle Chip, Hell's Burner! Slot In!"

"Oho. Wait a min. Look around you lowlifes!" Bomber Man laughed.

He snapped his right hand's fingers and some lights ignited inside of the Cyber World to reveal sabotaged circuitry.

"The anti-fire systems won't work! If you use Flame – Attribute attacks, then I can divert the heat to the real world and the powder will eventually explode! With you lowlife's Operator gone, it'll be easy to delete you lowlife!" He laughed.

"Then… Soul Unison, Metal Soul! Slot In!" Netto decided.

"What the…!" Bomber Man cursed.

"I'll show it you! Our real power! Metal Break!" Rock Man announced.

His right fist glowed and he delivered a powerful punch to the emblem on Bomber Man's shoulder: it cracked and began to leak data out.

"Gru~h…"

He growled and took out two new bombs from his shoulders but Rock Man was already in front of him: he delivered some more punches to his lower jaw, shoulders, torso and hips to stun him.

"How's that? Huh?"

He then spotted a large red switch in a corner of the Cyber World which was labeled "EMERGENCY STOREROOM DOORLOCK RELEASE".

"Hah. What a useless "trap"…"

He quickly jumped over there and turned it on: the real world door buzzed and unlocked so Netto and the agent rushed out immediately and outside of the factory.

"This was a "perfect" trap?" Rock Man taunted.

"Why, you…!"

"Bite me, Konami's Bomber Man's ugly cousin."

He transformed his right arm into a gun and shot several rounds towards Rock Man: they bounced off his armor and hit Bomber Man instead.

"Metal Wheel, Metal Missile!"

The Metal Wheel hit his torso and got stuck there while six missiles fell down from the sky and bombarded him thus further pushing him back.

"Uoh… 75% of my HP has fallen…! I've only got 15% left and…! That brat doesn't have a single wound…! Impossible…! Back when… the N1 Grand Prix… Stone Man and me… Beat 'em up!" He growled.

"Things are different from back then! My power has increased: and this is proof of it! I guess you didn't get permit to do this: Freeze Man would've laughed at this idea of a trap." Rock Man told him.

"Freeze Man…! That smug-faced leech jerk…! One day I'll definitely rip that smile outta his face…!" He cursed.

"Battle Chip, Flame Sword! Slot In!"

Rock Man plunged it into the right shoulder and blew the bomb up: he did the same with the left one and Bomber Man collapsed into the ground.

"Guoh… 95% of my HP is gone… I'm barely alive…!" He groaned.

"My mission isn't to delete you. Go back to your boss with the tail between the legs and they'll do whatever they think they need to do with you." Rock Man turned around.

"There's nothing else to do here, Rock Man. Return."

Rock Man plugged out and Bomber Man growled as he tried to stand up: a familiar "breathing" sound like Darth Vader's one rang out across the area.

"3… 3 in one morning… It'd seem you lowlife wish to die, too. Whatever: this will keep the others in line!"

"Zero…! You traitor…!" Bomber Man cursed.

"That's you lowlife's status. Disappear."

"Mugro~h!"

10:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Boss? How's the vaccine program going like?"

"I'm almost there: I've reached a 96% chance of nullifying the program, but… I'm not settled. I want to push it further. But I hope to be over by today or tomorrow."

Omega had come into the command bridge to talk with Vadous: both looked calm although Vadous had obvious signs of having been working too much.

"By the way… I've gotten three reports from Hikari, Ijuuin and Laika: Duplicate Zero is those guys' lapdog to retire traitors or useless guys: Bomber Man, Cold Man and Desert Man have been taken out by a bomb program they carry inside… This is starting to sound like the _ABC Murders_… And Freeze Man now claims being the "Demon Tribe Chief" taking after Twilight's "Demon King" title. We're only missing a "Demon God" but I guess Twilight would've played that or _will_ play it when he bothers to stick his hide out."

"Now I know what else he was doing apart from working on Neo Gospel's projects: he powered several underground crime groups up to leave us some headaches running around. We're slowly rounding them up but we've gotta be emphatic with security." Vadous grumbled.

"It can't be helped… I'll go check on Blood's and Sigma's training: they need to be fresh and responsive since they've been staying onboard too many days in a row. Later." Omega rolled his eyes.

"Damn it. Twilight. You fucker. Kanou did well on taking Kuroshiro away with him from your damned presence. You'll torture him and try to turn him into an accomplice to torture and murder just to show off in front of Maria…! Do that yourself, you lazy fat-assed fucking moron!"

"Sure. I'll bathe the guy in pink paint and Maria will tell him to stop playing Man In Pink and that she hates pop art." Omega muttered back.

"Hah! That'd be fitting, really! Be humiliated and brought down by justice, you psycho! You… And your "KO" buddy too…! I swear…!"


	14. Chapter 13: Fighting

**Chapter 13: Fighting**

17:22 PM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 30th…

"… Flame Tower!"

"Magic Fire!"

"Ball!"

"Elec Sword!"

"Bamboo Sword!"

"Super Vulcan!"

"Scope Gun!"

"Z – Saber!"

Blues, Rock Man, Search Man and Zero (the original one) were fighting the duplicates of Fire Man, Magic Man, Colored Man and Elec Man: the differences laid in the fact that their emblems had been erased and were empty as well as some random color palettes.

"Damn. These guys are over-powered!" Rock Man cursed as shot Super Vulcan rounds at Duplicate Magic Man.

"And I'm sure _that guy_ will be coming out once we manage to defeat them, too!" Blues cursed as he dodged Duplicate Fire Man's attacks.

"Che. Bothersome guys…!" Search Man cursed as he tried to hit Colored Man while dodging the ball.

"This is so pointless…!" Zero protested as he fought Duplicate Elec Man.

"Hah! You people can't hope to stand up to our power!" Duplicate Magic Man boasted.

"I'll burn all of you to cinders!" Duplicate Fire Man exclaimed.

"Tee, heh, heh! You're nothin'!" Duplicate Colored Man laughed.

"Our power is above yours!" Duplicate Eled Man added.

"We've gotta risk it! Program Advance!" Enzan rallied.

"Hi Cannon, Triple Slot In! Giga Cannon!"

"Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!"

"Vulcan, Triple Slot In! Mugen Vulcan!"

"Heh." Zero sounded amused.

"GO~!"

The three Program Advances bombarded all enemies and inflicted major damage: they looked ready for more, though.

"Lighting Flare!"

"Magic Saber!"

"Homing Ball!"

"Flame Tower!"

The attacks hit the four Navis and they were kicked into the ground: they quickly stood up and grumbled as they faced the enemies.

"Weak! Weak!" The four of them exclaimed.

"Soul Unison, Roll Soul! Slot In!" Netto grumbled.

"Roll Arrow!"

The Roll Arrow hit Magic Man's empty emblem and got stuck there: energy flowed out of it and into Rock Man: he quickly shot at the other three and their energy recharged his companions.

"Roll Soul: V2! We've upgraded it!" Netto grinned.

"Yeah! How's that like?" Rock Man taunted.

"Crap." The four of them muttered.

"Their power levels have descended by an 87% percentage. One simple attack will push them past their limits." Search Man calmly announced as he scanned them.

"Gotcha! Battle Chip, Prism, Mega Cannon! Double Slot In!"

Rock Man tossed the Prism into the air and then aimed the Mega Cannon: the blast hit the Prism and several streaks of energy were formed from it: the four enemies were hit and they quickly escaped the scene before the bombardment was over.

"Heh! Take that!" Netto grinned.

A melody suddenly showed up of nowhere and everyone looked around in a surprised manner.

TAC! TATAC! TAC! TAC! TACA! TACA! TOC! TIC! TAC! TACA! TAC! TAC! TAC! TAC! TAC! TAC! TACATA! TAC! TAC! TRRRAC! TAC! TOC! TACATOC! TAC! TICTAC! TACATAC! TOCTACTOC! TACATATOC! TAC! TOC! TAC! TACATOC! TOC! TOC! TACATOC! TACTAC!

"What the heck?" Zero muttered.

"It sounds like _flamenco_…" Enzan ventured.

"But none of us are fans of it." Laika pointed out.

"Sounds like trolling." Netto muttered.

"Hah, hah, hah… Hah, hah, hah…!" A manly voice rang out.

"Damn. Cosmo Man! There he goes: laughing at us." Rock Man cursed.

"So? Does our little cross-dressing mouse like his _hobby_?" Cosmo Man taunted them as he suddenly formed a 3D image.

"Tell that to Gauss Magnets!" Netto shot back.

"Ah. True! I'll tell him one day."

"Come out in the solid!"

"Solid Snake will assault you from behind." Cosmo Man sneered and looked smug.

"GRHTX!"

"They didn't call me "Smug Mister Cosmos" in vain!"

Some data showed up and joined together to reveal skeleton-like soldiers which had shorts on their waists.

They each had four arms and held four metallic custom-looking swords.

They also had a helmet and their eyes were tinted red.

Their bodies were colored golden

Each seemed to be close to two meters tall and they looked menacing enough.

"Aren't those Stalfos from _The Legend of Zelda_?" Zero wondered.

"Battle Chip, Long Sword, Wide Sword! Double Slot In!" Netto and Enzan announced.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Double Slot In!" Laika commanded.

"My sword will be enough!" Zero announced.

Each one picked a "Stalfos" and began fighting it: Rock Man tried to maneuver his swords to hit the "Stalfos" but he blocked with the swords: he then used each one of them to strike back: he swung them upwards with different angles and power: Rock Man was pushed into the ground and the warrior aimed all swords towards his chest emblem while using the right foot to crush his neck.

"Area Steal!"

Rock Man warped behind the "Stalfos" and hit him with the swords: some of the ribs broke but the "Stalfos" turned around in a fast manner and struck Rock Man with the swords again.

"Crap. Recovery 100!" Netto muttered.

Rock Man charged again and then waited for an opening: he delivered some more hits and broke some more of its ribs: the "Stalfos" began to increase his speed and Rock Man was forced to recoil.

"You know… This is starting to remind me of Obi – Wan VS General Grievous… The guy used four stolen light sabers…"

"Twilight. He ripped the idea off it: what an _otaku_." Netto grumbled.

Rock Man focused and spotted an opening: he delivered some attacks to the "Stalfos" and managed to break all ribs: the upper body split off and fell into the ground: the legs danced around before they collapsed into the ground, too: all of it was deleted.

"Phew." He sighed in relief.

"What a freak!"

Rock Man glanced around: the others had finished with the enemies as well and sighed in relief.

"Rubbish." Blues scoffed.

"Yeah. A waste of time, even…" Search Man grumbled.

"If that fake of me shows up… I'll destroy it." Zero muttered as he glanced at his sword.

"What's the status of the vaccine program?" Enzan asked.

"98% chances of nullifying the hijack attempt… But Vadous – san isn't satisfied yet and wants to push it to 99%... It's become harder to program as the rate of nullification increases." Netto explained.

"No wonder… But I guess it'll be ready by today at the utmost." Laika muttered.

"Good. Some extra help is welcomed. Davis is a good fighter, too, but he has other duties to attend to." Zero nodded in agreement.

"I'd say we go back: there's nothing else to be done here." Rock Man suggested.

"So! Enzan. Have you kissed farewell to the burgers?" Laika joked with a grin.

"Yeah. Lettuce sandwiches with only tomato slices on it are good enough for me." Enzan admitted.

"But lack of sleep is not good, Enzan – sama." Blues argued.

17:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… PCHKRA~PRVT! TRRRKHKRA~H!"

"What the heck! Hinoken! You've been abducted by an UFO and taught Martian?"

Hinoken had been roaring something impossible to decode inside of Maha Ichiban's storeroom: Madoi, who'd walked in, looked surprised.

"This bloody metallic drawer crushed my right foot! Damn it!" Hinoken cursed.

"Oh. What a pity! I thought we could have a thrill." She looked bored and resigned.

"Why, you…!" He growled.

Madoi shrugged while Hinoken grabbed his right foot and jumped around while cursing under his breath.

"Damn them! I'll beat Freeze Man!"

"Beat cha ego!"

"WHAT? What was that about, Madoi?"

"Dunno! Ask Maha."

"MAHA~!"

"What's the matter, Hinoken? It better be important." Maha sighed as he walked into the storeroom.

"What's that of "beat your ego" about?"

"That's it! Try to cool it down or else you'll end up like 3 years ago! Is that hard to understand, Hinoken?"

"Hinoken – sama: rushing it without a plan is reckless, sir. May I remind you how sending me to stir incidents city-wide failed to get the attention of Hikari Netto and Rock Man and we had to deliver a message?"

"GRHTXHT! Dr. Wily – sama~! Grant me a new weapon! Damn it all!"

17:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Chut! Look!"

"Crap. The cops…"

"Run!"

"Yeah!"

"_Where_ might _you_ be going _to_? _Comrades_?"

Four men on their 30s and with the looks of mafia grunts had been spying on the Hikari house from afar: they looked ready to run out when a cold voice with strong Sharo accent boomed out behind them.

"This is as far as you come." The voice sentenced.

"W-what?" They gasped.

Colonel Talos walked up towards them while holding a strange artifact on his right hand.

"Talos. Colonel Talos." He announced.

The object on his right hand was some kind of customized dagger: it had a central handle shaped like a cylinder: two curved daggers sprouted from each end, with each facing an opposite direction: some strange patterns were carved across each dagger's surface.

"Sha – Sharo Nation Military…!" They gasped.

"Of course. Your boss ran away from Vladivostok. It involves us." He confirmed.

"Crap!" They all muttered.

A police van suddenly parked behind them and several SWAT policemen climbed down: they rounded them up and brought them onboard the van while an officer talked with Colonel Talos.

"Thank you very much for the information, Colonel – dono." He thanked him.

"It is our honor to help the authorities in these matters: we don't stand this kind of grunts." Colonel Talos calmly replied.

"Well then… Good afternoon."

"Farewell."

The officer climbed onboard and the van exited the area: Colonel Talos then headed over to the parked car.

"Gentlemen: report." He commanded.

Both agents climbed out and saluted: Colonel Talos returned the salute to them.

"Colonel, sir! There was a suspicious – looking mistress who was scouting the area: sighting us deterred her from taking action and quickly retreated: we have sent a photo to the Analysis Department. It happened around 16:35 PM, sir." One reported.

"This is all, sir." The second one concluded.

"Good work. Make sure not to mention this to the gentlemen: we don't need further pressure on them." Colonel Talos commanded.

"Roger."

"I'll be going back. Don't lower the guard, gentlemen."

"Yes, sir!"

The agents climbed back inside of the car and Colonel Talos began to walk away when he stopped and glanced at a CCTV camera set mounted on the corner of the street: he looked like he suspected something.

"… Could it be…? Hmmm… But these cameras are handled by the city council… No vulgar Navi should be able to enter them, yet… Maybe the enemy is using them." He muttered with a hint of suspicion.

He then continued walking away while swinging the artifact on his right hand and seemingly thinking.

_Maybe I can ask a favor out of Captain Henshman…_

17:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Jeez! Where the hell did I store it at? And who the heck placed a report on Charles V, a 16th century king? We don't investigate 500 year-old stuff to begin with! This must be Frederick the Great: pulling a joke on me!"

"Come on, Charleston…"

"Charles!"

Charles was rummaging inside of a metallic drawer placed within an archive room: he sounded exasperated while Davis was joking as he leant against the wall while using his Copy Roid.

"You like it." Davis teased.

"I don't, Dave! Go shut Hal off!" He growled.

"Heh, heh, heh. The report on Caverick might be somewhere in that drawer, after all, Senator – sama! Take out Holmes' magnifying glass and _check it out_!" Davis laughed.

"Found it! It was behind Czechoslovakia…! Frederick! I'm so gonna shave that silly Poirot moustache of yours next time!" Charles growled in clear bad mood.

"Daniel Defoe would like to take part on that." Davis grinned.

"And Marius Jansen would like to document more of Japan's modern history." Charles muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm off for a walk 'round the Cyber World: I might find an interesting opponent to fight. Later, Charles I of King Land!" Davis announced.

He aimed his hands at a Plug – In port and transferred through it thus leaving a vulgar Copy Roid behind: Charles sighed and headed out of the room, down a corridor and into his office.

"Jeez."

The office had a desk with a PC, a bookcase and a metallic set of drawers: a window allowed sights into a busy avenue.

"Back to work!" He muttered.

He sat down on the chair behind the desk and laid the folder at his right: he took some documents out and began working with the PC while humming a tune.

_Twilight and "KO" will soon know what "pressure" is about: having Vadous' pressure on you 24/7 can shatter even the most arrogant of mafia jerks. They'll regret challenging us and no "Special Ability" will get them out of a pinch when we get our hands on the guy. _

He then frowned and looked at a page in the folder: it was a photo in which Charles' face had been superimposed over Luke's face when he was facing Darth Vader in _Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back_: he didn't look amused at the joke.

"Frederick… For real. I'm – gonna – shave – your – silly – moustache! What a jerk! He might be good at car chases or investigating car trafficking but his humor…! Wait 'till Round 2!" He grumbled.

"The Honorable Provider of Blessed Justice shall…"

"SIGMA! Don't patch me to Dragon!" Charles complained.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Too late, Charlie~ Team! Dragon of Thousand Hells hits you with his Vile Stagnant Breath!" Sigma joked.

"…the dance of spirits upon the twilight of…"

"Tell that to Twilight and have him improve the "Dancing Men" cipher which Holmes cracked!" He fumed.

"…struggling essences of the shortened life passed down…"

"Sigma! Cut this thing off or next time I'll steal your sword!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! I'd like to see ya trying, College of Charleston!"

"SIGMA! DRAGON! You're gonna regret pissing me off when I'm trying to tune the vaccine program! It's about time you two got a lesson!"

"Lovely. Now Vadous has to fix them… What craziness!"


	15. Chapter 14: Rock Man VS Empress

**Chapter 14: Rock Man VS Empress**

17:57 PM (Japan Time), Sunday December the 30th…

"… Fan – tas – tic."

"Yeah. I can see why."

Rock Man was standing in front of a large Internet City building which looked abandoned and closed up.

"Roll – chan sends an email claiming she wants me to escort her to this Fashion Shop but it turns out it closed half a year ago. And I can guess who really sent it." Rock man grumbled.

"Yeah. What do we do? Do we call Enzan or…?" Netto suggested.

"I don't want to look like a coward and I won't be intimidated by a Roll – chan imitator. Let's tell them to disappear: with some luck we'll even get that Zero copy to delete her out of incompetence." Rock Man calmly suggested.

"Roger. I have the Soul Unisons and some strategies at hand." Netto announced.

"Fine. Let's go inside." Rock Man nodded in agreement.

He opened the creaky door and stepped inside of the dusty, empty and largely unlit locale: the door was slammed shut behind him and it was locked.

_Like that'll scare me._

He drew the Rock Buster and aimed it forward while gluing his back into a corner where he couldn't be attack from the sides or from behind.

"Tee, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh." An evil giggle rang out.

"Empress." Rock Man muttered.

Empress walked out from the depths of the store while carrying that black whip she'd used back when the N1 Grand Prix: her red eyes shone with lust and malice.

"Yeah. That's the great me." She announced.

"Twilight ordered you to capture me." He guessed.

"Yeah. But I'll firstly refresh you on your training. You must be rusty. Tee, heh, heh!" She giggled.

"Soul Unison, Metal Soul! Slot In!"

"Metal Soul!"

"Che."

Rock Man transformed into the Metal Soul and readied his fists: Empress looked annoyed and she switched the whip for what looked like an electrical version of it.

"This voltage is low enough to only startle you, but… Since you have the Metal Soul on… It'll be amplified." She grinned.

"Elec Sword!"

Rock Man drew the Elec Sword and quickly jumped towards Empress: she gasped and tried to hit him with the whip only to get it coiled around the electrified blade: Rock Man punched her helmet's forehead and pushed her back as he pulled and robbed the whip.

"Why, you…!" She cursed.

"Isn't this a battle? I'll fight with my true power!" Rock Man shot back.

"Damn." She hissed.

She quickly ran towards Rock Man and skid across the ground before plunging her right boots' heel into Rock Man's privates' area: he groaned and stepped back.

"Hah. Men are easy to control like this." She grinned.

She drew a new whip and coiled it around his neck: the electricity was amplified and he yelled in pain.

"Damn. Recovery 150! Soul Unison, Guts Soul! Slot In!"

"Guts Soul! Rocket Guts Punch!"

The Rocket Guts Punch hit Empress' lower torso and made her fly across the space until she got stuck in the far wall: she uttered something under her breath and drew a whip with burning flames on it.

"Enough playtime! I'll turn serious! It's too late to regret it!" She exclaimed.

She ran towards Rock Man but he'd already had time to draw out the Giga Cannon Program Advance: the blast hit her fully and left some wounds and bruises on her body.

"Damn. I've lost 45% of my HP already…! But I'll have enough with the remaining 45%! I'll slice your neck!" She hissed.

"Then Zero's copy will delete you for failing to obey." Rock Man taunted her.

"Shit. I'll bring you to Freeze Man – sama and be ascended! You can't run away from this fate, Rock Man!" She exclaimed.

"Who said anything about running? Shockwave!"

He hit the floor and the shockwave pushed Empress around the room: she hissed and looked like her anger was escalating.

"Empress." Duplicate Zero's voice rang out through the radio.

"I'm not over yet! I've still got another 30%!" She exclaimed.

"I don't mean that."

"What the…" She looked annoyed.

"_Strategy Beta_."

"It took you long enough!" She snapped.

"The firewall wasn't easy to fool." He argued.

"Whatever. Have you seized the package?" She grumbled.

"Yeah. Easy money…"

"Good. My distraction was worth it."

"What? You came to stall for time while Zero's copy stole something out of somewhere?" Rock Man gasped.

"Yeah! So? Have we proved we're serious? "Divide and conquer", they say… And this is where it gets interesting. The "package" is Hikawa. And I'm sure he'll do a good temporary replacement for Ice Queen – sama, who we have already rescued… Hmmm…" She looked eager as she took out the tongue to lick her whip's handle.

"You lowlifes!" Netto cursed.

"All's fair in war. So? Are you gonna bring out your anger and let revenge move you guys?" She challenged.

"No! I'll defeat you and then rescue Tooru – kun! Rocket…!"

"Too slow!"

She suddenly used an Area Steal to warp in front of his noses and shot a Mega Cannon at close-quarters: the Soul Unison was broken and she then snapped her right hand's fingers: some octopus-like tentacles came out from beneath the ground and coiled around Rock Man's forearms, feet and neck: they stretched his limbs and he tried not to yell in pain.

"Tee, heh, heh." Empress giggled.

"Ne… Netto… kun…! Send me… a Chip…!" He groaned.

There was no response: he gasped in fear and opened his eyes in realization: he failed to see Empress' eyes shining with a bluish light for seconds before returning to normal.

"Now… Feel the pain!" She exclaimed.

She warped behind him and began to hit his back with a thorn-filled whip thus leaving some cuts on his bodysuit and scars: he yelled in pain and struggled to pull the tentacles.

"Kya, hah, hah! That's the price of betrayal, Rock Man! It'll be forever engraved in your flesh!" She laughed.

The door was suddenly blown up and Davis rushed in while having a golden-colored Dream Sword ready.

"Golden… BLADE~!"

"What!"

The attack hit her and inflicted major damage as well as cutting the tentacles: Rock Man collapsed on the ground while Empress opened a Space Time bubbled and jumped inside of it.

"Saito! Hang in there!" Davis gasped.

He crouched besides him and made a grimace as he looked at the multiple wounds: he looked at his face and spotted that he'd lost consciousness.

"Damn. That woman set up a jammer device… Wait until Vadous gets a hold of this: he'll be in such anger that even the God Cards' Anger of God will look pale in comparison." Davis cursed.

"I'm afraid we'll need for Saito to get a chip implant like the one Netto has to bury this memory… Else… It could get extremely ugly." Charles muttered next.

"Yeah. I agree… Plug Out!" Netto confirmed.

"We've gotta contact Vadous: he needs to come up with the chip implant ASAP." Davis muttered.

"Come back." Charles instructed.

"Roger."

Davis ran out of the store while looking about to go into a fit of rage about what had happened.

_Netto had a traumatic experience back when the "crisis" and now Saito needs to suppress it, too. Twilight! You really are as evil as Maria: you deserve being locked up forever! We Justice Council won't let guys like you getting away with it! Damn!_

He cursed under his breath and clutched his right fist…

18:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Vadous – san…"

"Don't worry: the operation was a success."

"I see…"

Netto was speaking with Vadous while standing next to an armored door labeled "ELECTRONICS LAB #1" inside of the HQ's curved corridor: Netto looked nervous while Vadous was seemingly trying to keep his attitude in check.

"Saito won't remember anything and the wounds on his Navi body have already healed. However… There might be some reactions or symptoms if he gets to see such an artifact again… I can't guarantee a 100% rate of correct functioning, either. 95% is the closest I can do." Vadous explained to him.

"I understand… How do we cover it?" Netto asked.

"Lartes and I already came up with a cover: you came to train, he left the body to be checked up by Lartes, and he's now reintegrating with it. I've uploaded one VR mission's scenario into his memory files." Vadous instructed.

"So I simply have to pretend we've been training. I understand. We never get to thank Vadous – san enough…" Netto politely told him.

"Don't mind it: I'm always overworking myself. Ah. And that of Hikawa – kun being abducted was a bluff to make you feel nervous: he was totally unhurt." Vadous sighed.

"I thought as much…"

"Anyway… Remember to act like I told you and nothing ugly should happen. Since Blood and Sigma will be escorting you, then… It should be safe enough." Vadous replied.

"… Ah… A refreshing VR… I feel beaten." Saito yawned as he stepped out of the room.

"Remember that the effort you make as a Navi is transferred to your body to create compensation." Dr. Lartes instructed.

"I understand, Dr. Lartes." Saito nodded in understanding.

"Good. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so… Enjoy the thrill which comes with entering the New Year. Maybe Miyabi will show up and chant a _Sengoku_ motto twelve times, even!" Dr. Lartes joked.

"Miyabi… I'm sure he'd say "I'll slice your neck" in the old-fashioned manner of _okubi choudai_… And Shadow Man will start using _sessha_ as a personal pronoun, too!" Saito laughed.

"Enzan will have to drink water and eat just slices of bread given how his sandwich diet won't be balanced enough!" Netto joked.

"That'd apply to me, too…" Vadous rolled his eyes.

"And Snake Man will dance to the tune of a flute." Blood Shadow joked as he caught up with them.

"Heh, heh! He'll bite his own tail." Netto grinned.

"I'd rather spin the guy around and send him flying 'till Anchorage: he'll have to send me a postcard from there." Sigma joked.

"I'd cut off his fangs and patent him Fangless Snake Man." Omega came up with his joke, too.

"Guys… Innocents' Day was in the 28th…" Vadous muttered.

"But this is the Joke Club's Day." Omega grinned.

Everyone laughed at the name while Vadous rolled his eyes and seemed to be resigned.

"You guys…" He muttered.

"Let's look forward to New Year's!" Everyone exclaimed.

"And to the descent of the Hellish Dragon of Thousand Breaths!"

"Oh come on! Sigma! You didn't get the lesson already? JEEZ!"

10:05 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday January the 2nd, 2008…

"… So… Do you know who's the culprit behind this whole ruckus? I'll tell my Papa to boycott them!"

"Heh. I rather doubt it."

"What!"

The twins and their friends had met in the Densan City Shopping Mall and where having some cups of hot chocolate: Yaito had asked the question and Saito grinned at her.

"If the Net Police and nor Vadous – san can track them down, do ya really expect your Papa to be able to do so? They don't own a corporation or do businesses in the stock market." Netto told Yaito.

"Hmmm!" Yaito looked like she was heating up.

"Calm down, Yaito – chan. There are limits to what one can do." Meiru tried to calm her down.

"Maybe!" She sentenced.

"What stubborn attitude…" Tooru rolled his eyes.

"Guts, guts! If Guts Man finds that ugly copy then he'll smash it into pieces, de guts!" Guts Man exclaimed.

"You wouldn't even be able to shatter a fallen tree." Roll told him with a totally skeptical glare.

"Wha! Guts!" Guts Man looked terrified.

"Sadly enough… That is the truth." Glyde added.

"I agree! Desu!" Ice Man added.

"Heh! Ye couldn't even beat your own right punch!" Sigma added with a grin.

"Who knows?" Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Guts…"

"Gorilla Man is realizing the limits of his muscles, Dekao – kun?" Meiru asked him with a strange grin on her face.

"Meiru – chan! That's cruel!" He gasped.

"Tee, heh, heh."

Saito seemed to frown and Netto gasped.

"Oh! True, true! Yaito – chan: did you upgrade the land mowers?" Netto switched topics.

"What? Oh. Yeah. They now fly." Yaito shrugged.

"Sky mowers, then…" Saito looked amused.

"Maybe." She didn't seem to care.

"Oi! Gorilla Man! Beat the fly in your face!" Sigma told him.

"Guts Hammer! Gattsu~!"

He ended up hitting his own face and collapsed in the ground: everyone laughed while Dekao sighed in defeat.

"I'm afraid he's fated to become a comic relief character!" Blood Shadow whispered to the others.

"No way… I didn't eat enough _curry_, then!" Dekao groaned.

"Wanna compete?" Netto challenged.

"Yeah! I'll cook it, too!" Dekao replied.

"Come on! Maha told us how you burnt the curry and broke dishes when you stayed with them on Maha Niiban's. And they fooled you by losing in purpose to get rid of you. I guess they want you a thousand light-years away from there!" Saito laughed.

"Ah… I miss the old days." He muttered.

Netto sighed in relief and laughed along with the rest of the group.

_The worst part is over! Let's look forward with happiness!_

"Mwah, hah, hah. Oi! Kir Osh sent me the photo of Dragon's banner for the New Year… It'll be the Rat year!"

"RAT? KYAH!" Yaito gasped.

"And this year was the Pig year!"

"PIG? UH!" Meiru gasped.

"Oi! Don't blame me!"

"No! We're not blaming cha but… That's some bad luck!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! 2006 was Dog, 2005 was Rooster and 2004 was Monkey… Wily acted the monkey, Regal was the proud rooster, the dogs ran around next, the Twilight pig is howling and then they'll send out their mice to play with us!"

"How stupid." Blood Shadow groaned.

"How _brilliant_, Bloody~ Shadowy~ Of Thousand Shades!"

"The last part was needless."

"Speaking of which, is Shade Man's tomb still intact?" Netto suddenly recalled.

"Sure is. We found Bubble Man trying to use a water hose and soak the stone but the power field bounced it off to begin with." Blood Shadow calmly replied.

"Did you make the guy run to Alaska?"

"Sure did! I just had to grin and the guy ran away as if he'd accidentally summoned the Great Evil God Zorc! Mwah, hah, hah!"

"Oh come on. That wasn't funny: having to offer 99 human souls to forge the "Millennium Items"…" Blood Shadow sighed.

"Well! The banner is this: "Let the Sky and the Sea plus the Land guide us to the Palace of Finite Lasting Sins"…"

Everyone rolled their eyes in defeat and Sigma chuckled…


	16. Chapter 15: Hints

**Chapter 15: Hints**

13:03 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday January the 2nd…

"… Hello, Boss… Oh? _Super Mario Bros_.? Interesting!"

"Yeah. Guess so…"

Omega stepped into the command bridge and spotted Vadous playing _Super Mario Bros_: the graphics signaled that it was one of the games from several years ago.

"This one is the GBC _Deluxe_ edition… It's good to take out stress!" Vadous admitted.

"I see. By the way… Kir Osh has some news." Omega replied.

"What's up?" Vadous asked.

"Well… Those guys haven't been coming out, but… He spotted something odd while going over the data… Some of them escape using those Time Space anomalies, but… He can't seem to track them… Also… Their signatures have something strange to them… It's like they had another program besides the bomb program… And it forces them to scarify close to 10% of their HP to create some sort of protective aura… Like… That their data wasn't able to be directly exposed to the "normal" Cyber World's atmosphere…" Omega explained.

"So that must be the reason they always are forced to retreat if they lose around 90% of their power… How could we confirm it, anyway?" Vadous muttered.

"Easy! We corner one of them into a Dimensional Trap and then capture them for analysis. It's not like they'll want to be blown up, anyway. And not even that Zero copy can get inside of the Dimensional Trap using that portal: only we can." Omega suggested.

"Almost like Pharaoh Man…" Vadous lifted his eyebrows.

"Oh. I hadn't thought of it like that. But unless they get brainwashed into being total fanatics, they won't be blowing up."

"Good. Since the vaccine works fine, then you've got my permission to do that with Kir Osh. _Good luck_." Vadous authorized.

"Thanks."

Omega turned around and walked out of the command bridge while Vadous kept on playing: the cell phone rang with the _Mario _tune and he hit the "RETURN" key to bring up the menu and pause it.

"Let's see…" He muttered.

He picked it off his belt and looked at the screen.

"I don't know this number… Japan prefix… Maybe they dialed it by mistake… Hello?" He asked.

"I am looking for a North Korean." A manly voice replied.

"I apologize. But this is not the North Korea Embassy." Vadous calmly replied.

"Ah. I apologize, then. Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon."

Vadous ended the call and placed the phone on its place before resuming playing at the game.

"Boss? It's me." Omega's voice rang out through the speakers.

"That was fast. Where are you?" Vadous looked surprised.

"I used a high BW WAN connection and I'm in Kyoto: Darkloid Bright Man is here messing with the electricity supply. I'm chasing the guy and dealing with the Virus distractions he throws at me: he's fond of using Token Monsters." Omega reported.

"I'd rather say he's fond of escaping like Grievous." Vadous made up a joke and grinned.

"Guess so! Oi! Cyber punk! Wanna go to the disco? I invite ya to some juicy data! Let's dance 'till the sun creeps into the basement!" Omega taunted with obvious amusement on his voice.

"_Check it out_! We'll see 'bout that! Bright Beam!"

"Slow."

There were some sounds over the radio followed by Bright Man's loud shrieks and yells.

"Ugh…! Who the heck are ya?" Bright Man demanded.

"The Dark Messiah: your doom." Omega replied.

"_Check it out_! It can't be that I've suddenly lost 88% of the great me's HP so quickly! Why, you…!" Bright Man cursed.

"Weren't you strengthened by whatever they did to your data, you'd be dead Darkloid by now, mind you." Omega calmly told him.

"_Check it out_! Plug Lariat!"

"Slow."

There was the sound of a kick and something hitting the ground: Bright Man groaned and cursed.

"No interlopers are needed. Dimensional Trap: Engage!" Omega announced.

There was a sound similar to a Dimensional Area forming and Bright Man gasped.

"Yeah. It's similar to a Dimensional Area: it'll enclose anything inside of it. Anyone trying to come in or out is unable to: outsiders will be warped 50 meters away while insiders will appear in the exact center. Those portal things can't open here and logout is impossible. Only I know how to step out or inside." Omega explained.

"_Check it out_! But then ya can't capture me!" Bright Man argued.

"You guys' portals are too low in power to open here. But ours are _way_ different. Do you prefer a kick to the jaw or to the forehead?" Omega replied before adding a sarcastic question.

"Nya~h!" Bright Man growled in irritation.

"Guess you like both. We'll only have a look at your data and then toss you inside of a _rave_ party: you'll _love_ it." Omega sarcastically told him.

Vadous chuckled under his breath.

"_Check it out_! I'm not over yet! Bright Beam!"

"I told you: slow." Omega sighed.

There was the sound of another kick and Bright Man cursed something again.

"I'm gonna bring out my super laser and blow ya up! _Check it out_!" Bright Man cursed.

"I doubt that such small mass can really hold a hyper matter core." Omega sounded skeptical.

"_Check it out_! Who are ya, Mr. Wikipedia?" Bright Man cursed next.

"Maybe." Omega sounded amused again.

"_Check it out_! Grrr! I'm off!" Bright Man cursed.

There was a buzz sound and Bright Man gasped.

"Already forgot? You can't run from here." Omega told him.

"Grah! Zero~! Come out and do something!" He yelled.

"Your companion can't come in, see: his portal ain't powerful enough. Kir Osh! Open the transfer: I'll drag this guy by the ponytails." Omega replied before calling out.

"Roger. Opening gateway…" Kir Osh confirmed while barely holding his laughter back.

"Huh? My body… feels heavy…! No…! What…? Code 223: when about to be captured… initiate bomb program…? No way…! Stop! Turn off! Switch it off!" Bright Man suddenly gasped.

"Shit! I'll have to rip it off!" Omega growled.

"Kya~h!" Bright Man suddenly roared.

There was the sound of an explosion and Omega howled something feral under his breath.

"Omega! Are you alright?" Vadous asked.

"Yeah… Only lost 15% of my HP, but… No data is left! Bothersome Freeze Man! This is what they've been doing these days without sorties: auto-programming the bomb program to go off alone!" Omega cursed.

"It was a nice attempt… I guess we'll have to try to get one of the big fishes but that'll be even harder." Vadous sighed.

"Dimensional Trap: Release. I'm coming back since there's nothing else to do here."

"Roger. Kir Osh: try to work out the power of that bomb and calculate how we could disable it."

"O. K., Boss."

Vadous switched the radio channel off and leant his right hand's fingers against his forehead while sighing in defeat.

"Is there no end to this pointless war?" He muttered.

"…bringing forth the sin and lust and…"

"DRAGON! CURRY! MAKE SOME CURRY~!"

"Yet…"

"Do you want to see the descent of the Anger God?"

"N-n-n-no, sir." He began to speak normally, for once, and sounded nervous.

"It's about to come to reap your pitiful SOUL!"

There was the noise of a fire turned on and it was followed by a frying pan being placed on the fire.

"Phew. About damned time…" Vadous muttered.

_Why do you need to be so stubborn? Jeez. Next time I'll pick an Italian!_

14:11 PM (Japan Time)…

"… It was a good idea to encode the bomb program triggering into the Darkloids, Lord Sidier. Bright Man was almost captured by that "Dimensional Trap" technology."

"I see... Yeah! It was wise… Well! You seem to have practical ideas, after all, Search Man DS… I'll praise you."

"Yes, sir. I am glad."

Search Man DS was talking with Sidier: his master was glancing at his sword from time to time.

"Even though Zero DS is a good opponent to spar with… I wish I could taste fresh blood…" He muttered in a resigned tone.

"Lord Sidier. That would be unwise. It'd ruin the whole experiment, wouldn't it?" Search Man DS asked.

"Yeah. I know. Anyway… Proceed as you are. You three have already proven your worth. All the others are expendable. My objective all along was to draw three strong ones from the masses. It'd be pointless to pick the Subspace Navis: they're obviously strong enough as they are. That's why I've selected you three." Sidier distractedly replied.

"Thank you very much, sir." Search Man DS saluted.

"You may go: plan the next sorties." Sidier calmly commanded.

"Roger."

Sidier was left alone on his room and he let out a sigh.

"So… Vadous isn't caught unaware by sudden phone calls. He didn't think much about it. But then again I wouldn't have imagined he plays _Super Mario Bros. Deluxe_ to vent off his bad moods. It might be interesting." He muttered with a hint of amusement.

He then stretched and moved the bookcase to the right to reveal the purple gateway: he snapped his right hand's fingers and it energized enough to open.

"Let's go report." He grinned.

He jumped inside and the gateway shrunk: the bookcase moved back on its default position and concealed it up.

"… Hiya~!"

"Ah… Empress H – sama…"

Sidier gasped upon spotting H was sitting on the throne.

"S was around for a few days but then decided to go camping with B to the Fortress Temple: he wanted a new challenge. My new single is giving 'em nightmares!" She giggled.

"Ah… Eh…" Sidier trailed off.

"I know: ya wanted to report. Tell me your latest plot to catch that evil-looking girl into your claws." She amusedly told him.

"B-but… H – sama…!" He protested as he turned red.

"Tee, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh. Oh. I could be looking at that face the whole day: I swear! You look so _cute_!" She laughed.

"Eh… I apologize, but…" He tried to switch topics.

"O. K. Tell me." She shrugged.

"Ah… Thank you very much. I have rigged all of the Darkloids and Duplicates to automatically self-destruct in case they were about to be captured: it'll help prevent any slips which could lead to the location of our base or our identities: they'd ruin the whole purpose of the experiment." Sidier explained.

"I see! _Kamikaze Corps_!Tee, heh, heh!"

"Ah… More or less…" Sidier muttered.

"Oh! Before I forget… My newest single is out and you'll be given VIP status to hear it before it hits iTunes!" She announced.

"Crap." Sidier muttered.

He quickly pressed his index fingers against the surface of his ear pads and spun them anti-clockwise: H cleared her throat and readied the guitar by making those loud ear-piercing noises.

"_Crazy ship of fools _FSSMancha! _Sailing through the skies at 100 km/h and at a height of 1001 meters above the ground: 23 meters short of a full kilometer they say~_! _But truth is different 'cause 1024 bytes make a kilobyte but a kilometer is just 1000 meters, see~_! _Tee, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh_! _Si – chan will have to put on outdated perfume to keep that evil girl at bay~_! _S doesn't like others ruling over people by force or fear so he'd be better off telling her to go to Las Vegas and pick a broke guy who tried to become a millionaire in the casino~! But it won't suit her so she'll go pick a middle school guy~_! _Tee, heh, heh_! _And they'll play 'round in the gym storeroom, ya see~_!" She began singing.

"FSS Mancha… Fool's Sailing Ship… How original." Sidier muttered with obvious sarcasm: he seemed to be able to hear even though he'd lowered his audio input levels.

"… _Tee, heh, heh! S will call the 7__th__ Cavalry Detachment from Fort Bravo and raid the gym storeroom to arrest that gal and send 'er to Alcatraz V2 to make company to Eris and fight to the death in an epic struggle~_! _But Eris is a Goddess, so she's immortal and will resurrect no matter what in some form, they rally~_! _Tee, heh, heh_! _Call on the Red Army: they'll paint Moscow red in 48 hours and be granted the Pulitzer Prize~_! _I'm a genius singer: Madonna and Houston are pale in comparison to me~_! _Bring the Hammer Man outta the closet: he needs to hit some guys 'round here and there~_! _And thus Hammer Man won the battle_~!_ But Donkey Kong came and stole his hammer to make it his trademark: he's a snobby monkey who belongs in Africa~_! _And this tale ended with a hit on the eye~_!_ Tee, heh, heh_!" She finished.

Sidier looked totally about to discharge his bad mood into something and forcing himself to keep a straight figure: that didn't escape H's sight as she leant forward.

"I can see you _loved_ it, Si – chan! Maybe you wanna hear my extra radio edit version?" She teased.

"Thank you very much but I am obliged to continue surveillance of the experiment… Good afternoon, H – sama." Sidier politely replied as he bowed.

"Sure. Come anytime with your girlfriend and show me how much of a pro she is." H teased.

Sidier looked elsewhere and cleared his throat before engaging the gateway and jumping inside of it: the thing then resumed its normal form and H giggled.

"Si – chan is so _cute_ and honest, really… S hit it on the mark with his personality except for one thing: he takes us too literal as if we were royal court, too… Bah. We'll fix that one of these days. Tee, heh, heh! I'm a genius, ya know! Yeah! I mean ya guys: the ones glued at the laptop's screen to hear to me~! Blame the Author!"

"Oi, H – chan! Why don't you leave poor Sidier in peace? We could hear that all the way from here! Everyone's mad by now and you ruined the good mood! Queen Virgo DS looks like she could murder and not regret it ever even!" Emperor S complained over the radio.

"Blame the Author, Sirius White!"

"Sirius White, how original…" Emperor S groaned.

"Bold Bolt!"

"That's not my name!" B protested.

"Tell Queen Virgo to keep her otouto in check before he goes too far with Dia Iceburn!"

"On the contrary: it's Jack Corvus who has to be careful with Dia Iceburn and her _dominatrix_ behavior!" Emperor S fumed.

"Yeah! And you know that! All too well! You never stopped trying to tease Goat Kung Fu either!" B complained.

"The Complain Duo Strikes Back with a Yell!"

"Oh man! Leave us in peace and sing that to the Joker!"

15:07 PM (Japan Time)….

"… So… You're going to try to hunt some of them?"

"Yeah. We'll try to be back soon but Commander Omega will drop by to check security."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, _aibou_!"

The twins were speaking with Sigma and Blood Shadow: Sigma was inside of Netto's Link PET while Blood Shadow was occupying Saito's (colored green and white).

"_Let's go_! Plug In! Sigma, Transmission!"

"_Rock 'n Roll_! Plug In! Blood Shadow, Transmission!"

They both entered the PC and headed over to the firewall: an orange light scanned them and two gateways labeled "80 TCP/IP" opened up: both ran out and they closed behind them.

"Hello there." Omega greeted as he met up with them.

"Commander Omega!" Both saluted.

"I'll take care of this. Go ahead and deal with any enemies: I doubt being able to catch them, but… At least we'll reduce their numbers and force them to rethink their plans." Omega instructed.

"Roger!"

Both ran out while Omega was scanned by the firewall and the gateway opened: he stepped in and checked that it closed up behind him. He walked through a gate labeled "RAM" and then climbed up a ramp into the main Cyber World: a holographic screen displayed Netto and Saito looking into the screen.

"Hullo. Crazy Omega came to say hi and bye: the FSS Baroness is about to set sail." He grinned.

Both laughed at his motto and Omega chuckled under his breath as well…


	17. Chapter 16: Suspicions

**Chapter 16: Suspicions**

15:28 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday January the 2nd…

"… I come to check this same place where Search Man battled Cold Man and I find this guy… No bad feelings: but I don't like you."

"Delete~! Blizzard!"

Blood Shadow was fighting against Duplicate Ice Man (without emblem drawing, having red eyes and gray coloring) inside of a frozen Cyber World: his shotgun's barrels were already shining with energy.

"You! Freeze Man is your _Danna_?"

"Yeah! Delete~!" He replied.

"This guys looks so weird compared to the original one… Yo! And you guys live in Wonderland, then?" Blood Shadow muttered before taunting.

"No "Wonderland": we live in another Time - Space: a "Dark" Time – Space~! You're silly~! Hah, hah, hah!" He laughed in a pitchy and evil voice.

"You fool!" An angry voice rang out.

"Crap!" Duplicate Ice Man gasped.

"Zero's copy: come and face me if you have the guts!" Blood Shadow challenged him.

"Not today. But I'll fight you one of these days. Battle Chip, Blind!"

Blood Shadow cursed and shielded his shades as he heard the familiar sound of a sword plunging through a body and a cry of pain followed by energy building up.

"I'm sorry~!" Duplicate Ice Man cried.

There was the sound of an explosion and Blood Shadow hissed as he had to step back: the whiteness then died and only a crater was left while the copy Zero was standing atop the Core Block and looking indifferent at the panorama.

"You were lucky. But there'll be no more accidents like this." He warned to him.

"You…!" Blood Shadow hissed.

"Hmpf. My original was intended to be a ruthless killer: it's a defective and I'm superior to it. Tell this to it: I'll kill it one day." Duplicate Zero boasted as he folded his arms.

"Che!" Blood made a grimace.

"Farewell."

He opened the gateway and jumped inside before it closed and Blood howled something.

"One thing is clear: they live in a "Dark" Time – Space and such they need that 10% to compensate for protection and be able to survive in the "Light World"… Sir Kir Osh's theory was right." He muttered.

"Hello there."

"Oh, Dave."

"Please…"

Davis appeared there while having his golden-bladed Long Sword Battle Chips drawn.

"Who was here?"

"The evil Eskimo, the lil cousin of Vulcan Raven… Now we know they live in a "Dark" Time – Space and they need shielding to come out."

"I see! So that's why they used those Time – Space gateways. Well: I'm off to trying to catch one of those guys."

"Go ahead and show them the "Star Gate" sequence…"

"Oho. Oho. That'd be TERRIFIC. Double terrific."

"Wouldn't it, Davis? Go bust them."

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm inspired. I'll now show it to them! Heh, heh, heh!"

15:31 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Glyde Cannon!"

"Useless!"

Sigma used his large sword to bounce Duplicate Glyde's blast back at him and make him get stuck against a wall.

"Jeez. I come to check a strawberry milk plant and I find ya here… It'd seem ya take after your original!" Sigma grinned.

"I'm a 100 times more powerful!" He boasted.

"You're a 100 times weaker if you depend on an armor to survive outside of yer foxhole! It must be coated with anthrax!" Sigma taunted.

"No! It's the "Dark World" itself! You can't hope to survive more than 5 minutes if you enter the place!" Duplicate Glyde fell for it.

"Gotcha." Sigma grinned.

"Hmpf." The ominous voice scoffed.

"Ah…! I made a mistake!" Duplicate Glyde gasped.

"Blind."

The flash appeared and the usual event happened: Duplicate Zero plunged his sword through Duplicate Glyde's body and he groaned.

"No way~!" He yelled.

He then blew up and only a crater was left: the assassin landed down atop a crate and folded his arms.

"Ya punk! Come 'ere and fight me!" Sigma challenged.

"Wrong. I'm not allowed to." He shrugged.

"Ya bothersome guy…!" Sigma cursed.

"Hmpf. Think whatever you want. When the experiment finishes, we'll go back to being untraceable. Farewell." He scoffed.

Sigma growled something under his breath.

"Freeze Man! Show your hide! Showdown!" He challenged as he brandished his sword.

Nothing happened and he punched a wall out of bad mood thus leaving a big punch mark on it.

"Bothersome guy! I'm going back." He grumbled.

He warped away and appeared in Internet City where he spotted Higureya: he grinned and stepped in silence taking profit of Number Man giving him the back: he landed the right hand over his shoulder and Number Man turned around only to see his terrific figure towering over him and creating a shadow.

"UWA~H YAMITAROU~!"

He suddenly seemed to faint and a side-door opened: Aqua Man came in and ran next to Number Man.

"Pyurururu! Number Man fell! Pyu!"

"A~H! DE MASU~! NUMBER MAN, DE MASU~!"

"Huh… Trouble…" Shuuko muttered.

"Mwah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah!"

"How dare you! Sigma! De masu! You bandit! De masu! Fight my burning soul! De masu!" Higure challenged.

"Beware! The Rare Chip Flu has begun!"

"DE MASU~!"

CRASH!

"Ah! Higure – san fell from dancing atop the counter…" Shuuko didn't sound too surprised.

"Ma – Mariko – _sensei_~… De masu~…"

"Bring Sensei some red roses for St. Valentine's! Mwah, hah, hah!"

15:40 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Gravity Drive."

"Damn. This Darkloid is starting to pick me off."

"Cool it down, Shadow Man."

"Try being on my place."

Shadow Man was trying to face Darkloid Gravity Man: his gravitational abilities were making it hard for Shadow Man to lay a single wound on the guy.

"Enemies are meaningless. Meaningless." He taunted.

"You lowlife… Why don't you go lift X – Wings off a bog?" Shadow Man sarcastically told him.

"Gravity Hold!"

The sphere hit Shadow Man but he vanished and showed up atop Gravity Man: he quickly fell down and plunged his _katana_ into the metallic circle atop his head.

"How's this?"

He yelped and began to swing around in a chaotic manner: Shadow Man then jumped down and plunged his sword into the gravity controller, damaging it.

"Why, you…! I'll have you experience my gravitational Hell!" He threatened.

"Boast. That gravity controller is broken. Now you're powerless." Shadow Man shot back.

"Shadow Man. Program Advance." Miyabi called out.

"Roger."

"Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword. Slot In."

"Dream Sword!"

Shadow Man flung the blade at Gravity Man's mole and it made a notable wound on his body: he yelped and recoiled.

"And you were predictable: you showed up in NASA's gravity simulator and wanted to mess around with the customers." Shadow Man told him while folding his arms.

"Gravity Hold!"

"Evil Source!"

Gravity Man was bathed in flames.

"Gra~ua~h! The "Dark World" will kill you lowlifes if you try stepping into it! Heh, heh, heh! Heh, heh, heh!" He managed to taunt.

"It's time to close this big mouth." A bored voice rang out.

"Coming." Shadow Man sounded amused.

Duplicate Zero warped in front of Gravity Man and plunged his sword into the core: Gravity Man began to shine with purple light and his body frizzled with electricity.

"Eh… Eh… E~H!" He uttered.

He blew up as well and Shadow Man quickly jumped after Duplicate Zero as he headed for a platform: he appeared in front of him and aimed his _katana_ at his face.

"Are you lowlife going to run away? Or are you going to face as me as an assassin?" Shadow Man challenged.

"Hmpf. Fine." He muttered.

Both clashed swords and struggled in the deadlock: Duplicate Zero quickly swung to the right and tried to hit Shadow Man but a log appeared on his place and three _shuriken_ hit his back: he hissed and quickly jumped into the air towards Shadow Man: he calmly readied his _katana_.

"Shadow Blade!"

"Hmpf!"

Shadow Man hit Zero several times and he crossed his arms to protect his upper body: Shadow Man used the right foot to kick him on the stomach area and make him meet the ground: his eyes shone red and he pressed his left hand in the ground: red energy traveled across the circuitry pathways and data flew out: it began to assemble and gave way to a gigantic Mettool Virus.

"I'm late for my next job. I'll continue this later. Farewell!" He announced in an eager tone of voice.

He jumped into the gateway while the Mettool lifted the pickaxe and hit the ground with it.

"METTO~!"

"Che. Rubbish." Shadow Man scoffed.

"Let's delete it, then."

"Any _bright_ ideas, _ninja_ – sama?" Shadow Man asked with obvious sarcasm.

"Hum… Let's try forcing a wound and tossing a bomb inside of it: we'll reuse the enemy's tactic." Miyabi suggested.

"Fine. You Demon Tribe servant… The Afterworld is waiting for your meaningless data." Shadow Man taunted.

"Shadow Man… That thing can't even understand what "bye" means to begin with…" Miyabi sounded skeptical.

"Don't mind me." Shadow Man chuckled.

He jumped into the Mettool and cut a hole below the right eye while ignoring the mad shaking of the Mettool.

"Triple Bomb." Miyabi announced.

"Farewell."

Shadow Man threw the Triple Bomb inside of the Mettool and warped away.

"METTO~!"

The explosion took it out and Shadow Man looked on from atop a platform while joining two of each hand's fingers.

"_Veni. Vidi. Vinci._" He announced with some humor.

"True. The Lord's Container must be guiding us." Miyabi sounded amused, too.

"I dunno what you mean. Anyway… Let's get outta here." Shadow Man shrugged.

"So! Dark Miyabi. Come back from the mountain, have you?" Dr. Wily's voice asked with some humor.

"Dr. Wily. Your humor is old-fashioned."

"Heh, heh, heh. My empty cans say you're improving."

"Hmpf. What about Regal?"

"Ah! The damned stupid son! He's still smug and all! He says his "fail-safes" are working but he's just playing smart. He's really burning with envy at Twilight being the spotlight and him being forgotten!"

"No wonder. And Yuriko?"

"Well! She's finally getting along with her sister and has been helping with rebuilding and community work. Recovering her memories meant a lot to her and we have Hikari Netto to thank for that."

"Hum. Maybe I should make sure Regal doesn't try something to undermine our morale like in the summer…"

"Huh! Good idea, Dark Miyabi. Keep three eyes on the guy."

"Very funny." He drily replied.

"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…" Shadow Man chuckled.

"You stay quiet too."

"Sure, Miyabi – sama… Let's go greet Yamabi – sama! Heh, heh, heh!"

17:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Gah, hah, ha! Brat! I'll cut you lowlife up with my claws! Grah, hah, hah."

"Who are you calling a "brat"? Legally, I'm 21 years old. You're only taller than me by 19cm."

Davis was facing Beast Man: the Darkloid had drawn his claws and was boasting while Davis looked slightly annoyed.

"Whatever! Die! Wild Rush!"

"Battle Chip, Justice Sword! Double Slot In!"

Davis drew his two golden-colored Long Swords and used each one to block the detached forearms while he ducked to avoid the detached head which shot past him and hit a wall.

"Grah! You lowlife!" Beast Man cursed.

"Why didn't they call ya Claw Man to begin with?" Davis taunted with a broad grin.

"Why, you…! Jumping Claw!"

Beast Man jumped into the air and dived towards Davis: he brought his swords up and blocked them off while delivering a kick to the stomach area: Beast Man was pushed into the ground.

"Damn this brat! If I were at a 100% power then I'd beaten you lowlife already! Stupid T – something Program!" Beast Man cursed.

"Bingo." Charles grinned.

"Gra~h! Beast Ray!"

He swung his two claws around but didn't manage to get past Davis' Justice Swords: Davis then kicked him on the lower jaw and forced him to step back: Beast Man howled something under his breath and looked rather annoyed.

"Damn! Die~!" He roared.

He jumped into the air and bounced off a wall to try attacking Davis from behind: Davis calmly inclined his body backwards: Beast Man shot past him and crashed against ground while rolling across it.

"Shit! You lowlife~! Jumping Claw!"

"Tank Cannon!"

Davis aimed the large cannon and shot a close-quarters shot at Beast Man's chest which pushed him into the ground along with a large wound on his chest: the bomb program could be seen pulsating inside of the body along with another white-colored sphere which was emitting a yellowish light around Beast Man's body.

"I see. That's the program they came up with to protect their whole data from exposition to our atmosphere. It must be switched off once they're on their HQ." Davis guessed.

"Take a photo and let's show it to Vadous: he might be able to compute some simulations." Charles suggested.

"Roger, Charles II of King Land!" Davis grinned.

"Not again…!" Charles groaned.

Davis calmly made a photo with his eyes while Beast Man struggled to get up while panting.

"In a row." A cold voice rang out.

"Groa~h!"

A sword was plunged through both programs: the yellowish light vanished and Beast Man's color changed to purple as he began to lose strength at a seemingly quick rate and his bomb program began to shine: it then detonated and took him out with a bang.

"Hmpf." Duplicate Zero scoffed.

"Destroying them won't do you guys much good anymore: we have enough with knowing what it looks like to compute how it works. And it can even help pinpoint your hideout." Davis grinned.

"Hmpf. Boast while you can. We won't make any more mistakes. My sword will soon have a taste of your blood, Davis EXE." Duplicate Zero coldly told him.

"I've heard that… What, five times already? Ever since I became the new Justice Council leader and began hitting organized crime in Baja California… It doesn't impress me anymore!" Davis told him.

"Found you." A voice rang out.

There was a blur and the noise of swords clashing together: the _original_ Zero was battling the Duplicate.

"You lowlife." D Zero cursed.

"That's my motto." Original Zero replied.

"Let's leave them to settle it. There's nothing else to do here in the IPC Animal Farm." Davis told Charles.

"Yeah. I guess the Monolith wants ya to study Titan next." Charles joked with a broad grin.

"There's no need: the Cassini – Huygens mission has been doing that ever since 4 years ago." Davis calmly replied.

"Then it'll tell you to investigate Pluto." Charles joked next.

"A probe will get there in the year 2015." Davis grumbled.

"The Monolith may have been roaming around Jupiter for 3 million years, but I guess it's impatient to properly use you." Charles blinked him an eye and smile.

"Jeez." Davis muttered.

He logged out while the two Zeroes continued clashing without either of them being in advantage.

"I have 3 years of experience. You haven't even been around for 4 weeks, even." O Zero told him.

"Che. Bothersome mouse." D Zero grumbled.

"Motto thief." O Zero accused.

"What!" D Zero cursed.

O Zero suddenly charged up energy on his left hand and projected a beam of green pallid light at the enemy: he was pushed backwards and hit a wall while getting stuck there: O Zero then aimed his sword at his neck.

"Where is Freeze Man? Tell him to come out if he has the guts." Zero demanded.

"Freeze Man Tai – sa doesn't need to come out: he could beat you lowlife before you could even blink twice!" D Zero hissed.

"Freeze Bullet!"

Some shots hit O Zero and froze part of his body: D Zero broke free and pushed him into the ground before jumping atop a platform where D Search Man had taken up sniping position.

"Good timing, D Search Man. Freeze Man – sama ordered this?" D Zero questioned.

"Of course. He thought it'd be wiser." D Search Man calmly confirmed to him.

"Good. Let's get outta here." He rushed.

"Roger."

"Damn." O Zero cursed as he stood up.

Both jumped inside of the gateway and it vanished: O Zero grumbled and clenched his left fist.

"I'll settle it next time." He muttered.

He hovered into the air and began to fly away while seemingly fuming under his breath.

_Let's go see the twins… But one thing is clear by now: that copy of mine can't rival my skill. I'll defeat it next time around and prove there's only one _Zero_: me!_

17:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I see… So they really are hiding in a "Dark World" and thus they carry a program to survive outside of it."

"And the Duplicates don't have as much skill as the original… Well… That should've been expected."

"However… Something reeks."

"You noticed it, too?"

Netto and Saito were in the midst of a debate with O Zero and Omega: Zero sounded like it he had a hunch and Omega seemed to have suspected it for a while.

"There's more to this: Cosmo Man and Freeze Man are strong enough to come out and really give us trouble along with their pals, but… This mania of not even showing a hologram or something is picking on me. I know Cosmo Man did it but nevertheless…" Zero muttered.

"Yeah. They must be afraid we'll beat them. But since that ugly Zero talked about ending the experiment, then… They'll most likely only preserve that Creepy Trio and toss the others away like suits." Omega grumbled.

"Yeah… Sounds probable…" Netto looked somewhat worried.

"Guess we'll have busy days ahead of us and not only with the 2nd trimester of our 2nd middle school grade." Saito rolled his eyes.

"But Uncle Sigma will make those guys pack and go to Antarctica to play snowball war!" Sigma came up with a joke.

"And Miyabi will serve them Masa – san's fishes, too." Blood Shadow joked next.

"Heh, heh, heh! Masa – san will give them a three hour conference on why _calcium_ is so important!" Netto chuckled.

"Shark Man will tell them why penguins always wear tuxedos."

"The Joke Club Strikes Back!" Omega blinked them an eye.


	18. Chapter 17: Ancient Mansion

**Chapter 17: Ancient Mansion**

08:13 AM (Japan Time), Saturday January the 5th…

"… Hello? Senator Marius Pingole: Justice Council."

"I am looking for a North Korean."

"I am sorry, but… This is not the North Korea Embassy."

"Ah. Mistaken number, it'd seem… Good evening."

Pingole had been working in his office room using a computer when the phone in the desk rang so he picked it up: he frowned after he'd placed the receiver back on its place.

"… Is it me or did that voice ring a bell somewhere?" He suddenly muttered.

He tapped the desk with his right hand's fingers and seemed to be thinking about it: he suddenly picked the phone and dialed an internal extension.

"Hello? Nokay? This is Senator Pingole: I need to know, if possible, the origin of a phone call I just received. Did anyone direct it to my office?"

"Well… No. The tracer program Charles got from Vadous says this call was made directly from a phone cabin 670 meters SSE from here…"

"I see. Thank you very much. Good morning."

"Alright. Let's see if I can digitalize another 1 or 2 per cent."

He set the receiver back on its place again and leant back on his chair while frowning again.

"Twilight and "KO" are trying to fool me? But I'm not investigating anyone! It's just a small Ukrainian Mafia and - _mamma mia!_ That's it! They're hiding in Ukraine and using that Mafia as a cover! What time is it by now? 08:18 AM? Charles must be awake! I must call him at once." He muttered while realizing something.

He picked the phone again and dialed a number.

"Hello?" Charles asked.

"Charles! It's me: Marius." Marius announced.

"Hullo, Marius! I suppose something big happened. You're not the type to make sudden calls." Charles commented.

"Listen closely: I think I've found where "KO" is located at!"

"WHA~T?" Charles uttered in disbelief.

"Yes! I'm serious! I got an external call: and they knew my office number, skipping the main system! Listen up: they're involved with an Ukrainian Mafia!"

"You think there's a connection with the Ukrainian Mafia?" Charles asked.

"Yeah. I'd stake anything on it." Marius replied.

"I'll tell Vadous, then. He'll be more than glad to have something solid to work with. See ya, Marius." Charles announced.

"I'll call you if I find anything else. Morning!" Marius replied.

"Morning!"

Marius placed the receiver back on its place and smiled.

_You've made your first and last mistake, Twilight!_

"… Alright. What the heck is this about?" Nokay complained aloud from close by.

"What's wrong, Nokay?"

"There's a miniature of some bulky futuristic machine set on my desk all of a sudden with a note saying "maybe you'd end up sooner if you used this Composer to digitize you all and become Navis thus uploading your memories directly into the server"…! Sounds like someone came up with a futuristic machine which does the same as "Spectrum"…! Twilight! The bloody rascal got here again!"

"Che! _Porca miseria_. And now he laughs at us with clever jokes!"

08:37 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello, Sidier. Ya lookin' for S? He's nappin'. So I guess I'm in charge, for once… Did Captain Hook tell ya 'bout the bottle of rum on his room?"

"Eh… Ah… B – sama…"

Sidier was kneeling in front of the throne: B was sitting on it this time around and he'd improvised a pirate dialect.

"Heh, heh, heh. Jokin'… What's up? Did you clear _Super Mario Sunshine_? Or was it too _bright_ for _Bright Man_ to handle?" He joked next.

"B – sama… Am I allowed to report?" He politely asked.

"I see yer impatient to let it out… Tell me: that girl ditched ya like they do in the Hollywood movies." He kept on joking.

"Ahem, ahem! B – sama: I've lured Senator Pingole into believing "KO" is using a Ukrainian Mafia as a cover. They'll surely be looking around there out of misinformation. What should I do?" Sidier reported.

"Oh… This sounds intriguing! And even if they research into it, they'd end up empty-handed… This is starting to sound like _MGS_, even! Heh, heh, heh,… O. K.! Do this: wait some hours and then go hit 'em with that skilled assassin of yours, Zero DS… It'll be almost like the _Godfather: Ukranian Version_!" B laughed.

"I understand." Sidier bowed.

"Oh. Wait. Why don't you try _Luigi's Mansion_ instead? I'm sure you'll have a fun time with it! Busting and sucking ghosts I go~! Mario~! Come to my side~!" B suggested.

"Eh… Well… I will, B – sama. If you shall excuse me, then… I'll be heading back. Please beware of H – dono." He bowed.

"Huh… Yeah. True, true… She must be thinking up her newest _single_ even at this hour…" B muttered.

Sidier stood up and saluted before heading over to the gateway and jumping inside of it: B chuckled under his breath…

02:19 AM (Ukraine Time)….

"… Grmlbjf!"

A man walked around a large decadent building: he looked on his thirties, had a thick brown beard and some build.

He wore a simple black jumpsuit.

He was smoking a cigarette, and carrying a AKs-47u machinegun on his hands, including a leather band to hang it from the neck.

The surrounding streets were badly lighted and covered with snow: a cold wind blew through the area.

"Hell. Bosses say to me to watch meeting point but nothing ever happens here." The man grumbled in English with a foreign accent.

"Wrong. Something is gonna happen right here and right now." An amused voice corrected close by.

The man spun around in a flash: he spat the cigarette and aimed his machine gun.

"Who…?"

"Me? I'm Zero! Die!"

D Zero plunged his sword through the man's body and it fell into the ground, obviously dead.

"Heh. This is easier than having to delete Darkloids."

He dashed forward towards the building: explosions, shouts and machinegun rattling could be heard all of a sudden: it was obvious he'd gotten the attention of other grunts.

"Help!" Someone yelled.

"Call the bosses!" A second voice yelled.

"We're under attack!" A third gasped.

"Ya~h!" One yelled in agony.

"A~h!" Another roared.

"DIE, DIE, DIE, YOU MONSTER!" A fourth yelled in a hysterical way.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot!" A fifth commanded.

"My God!" A sixth yelled.

"Oa~h!" The fourth one yelled.

"No~!" The fifth one yelled in despair.

"Hra~h!"

There was the sound of a large explosion and everything suddenly fell silent except for some police cars' sirens rushing towards there: D Zero was standing inside of an outer yard surrounded by bodies and bloodstained snow: the building in front of him was burning.

"Hmpf. Too easy! Barely worth my time except… Hmmm… Blood has a nice glitter to it. Heh, heh, heh. I'm heading back to report to Boss! Heh, heh, heh!" He muttered.

He dematerialized while Cosmo Man suddenly formed on the scene and looked around but he wasn't impressed.

"Hum. Another little bit and I could've caught them…"

"Heh. Nice redecoration." Freeze Man joked over the radio.

"You sure have some black humor, Freeze Man – sama."

"Twilight – sama passed it into me, I guess."

"What do I do?"

"Get back here before the cops get there."

"Roger."

"Heh, heh, heh. Amusing, by the Mistral!"

"Guess it is. Let's let them chase blind alleys and get nowhere at all! You won't find us so easily and we're getting stronger! Heh, heh, heh!"

09:49 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Mission complete, Lord Sidier. The local police will quickly cover it up as an inter-Mafia conflict. The autopsy will obviously reveal it wasn't the case, but… Given how Dr. Wily had already designed light saber type weapons for Bomber Man's and Stone Man's dummy robot Operators, then… We could always direct the blame to black market hunters who stole that tech off him."

"Good job. You can rest, Zero DS." S

Zero DS came to report to Sidier inside of the hideout: he was kneeling in front of him while Sidier was calmly standing in a firm pose while clutching his hands behind his back and forming an evil smile.

"Did it feel good to coat your blade in blood?" Sidier eagerly asked.

"Yes, sir. It was worth my time." Zero DS confirmed.

"Heh, heh, heh… Maybe I'll be able to do it one day when the experiment is over." Sidier made a sinister smile.

"Good night."

"Rest."

Sidier looked at how Zero DS exited the room and heard him walk down the corridor to enter his: Sidier then exited and headed over to a room door's labeled "Empress DS" to knock on it: Empress calmly opened it and looked ready for any job.

"Empress DS. I'm going to uphold my part of the deal, so… Go ahead and test out your skills tonight. I did some research and I've found a closed down place which will do fine. Pick a random individual out there but make sure it has no connection to the Net Saviors. There'll be no official record of this. No – one but me will know you went out. Do you understand?" Sidier explained to her.

"Roger. Finally…" She looked eager.

"Be back here before 07:30 AM of tomorrow." Sidier commanded.

"By your orders, Lord Sidier." She bowed.

She ran off and Sidier quickly returned to his room: he picked up a new e-book titled _Casino Royale_ and resumed reading it.

"This might inspire me, even! Heh, heh, heh. Well… I'm sure Emperor S – sama will agree with the Ukranian Mafia stuff: he despises guys like them who rule over others by imposing fear. And regarding Empress DS… As long as there's no record, then he doesn't have to know. I live to serve him but since he ordered me to handle on my own then I'm allowed to make my own decisions…" He muttered with some amusement on his voice while looking eager.

"Yo!"

"Yikes!"

He spotted that the Time Space gateway had been opened and B was standing in front of it while folding his arms.

"B – dono! But isn't that dangerous, sir?"

"What? Oh no! Don't worry. I made sure the walls are sound-proof to begin with! Tell me one thing."

"What is it, sir?"

"What do you think of this? "Where the Land meets the Water the Mud is Born"… They say it's a Chinese proverb of the 3rd century BC!"

"I feel skeptical, sir. I feel like it's another banner Dragon Hell printed without checking it twice, sir." Sidier argued back.

"Heh, heh, heh. No wonder. Your Boss taught ya well." B sounded amused today.

"Of course he did, sir!"

"Good, good. Let's good a God." He made up a silly rhyme.

"Please, sir! It sounds so lame and pointless, sir!"

"I just wanna see that annoyed face~! I'm going back! Heh, heh, heh!"

11:51 PM (Japan Time)…

_Well! I've waited for some hours until it's become late night and now I've picked Kobe as per Lord Sidier's suggestion. _

Empress, having a black cloak with a hood on, was wandering across some streets while always looking around: she eventually spotted a person inside of an ATM machine sector of a closed down bank: they were sleeping inside using a blanket to cover their body.

_That one will do… It's locked from the inside but… I can enter through the machine and then materialize…_

She dematerialized and then materialized again inside of the room to crouch next to the person: it was a teen boy who didn't look older than fourteen years old: he had brown hair.

_Looks similar to Saito if I imagine it… Let's see…_

She spotted a backpack and rummaged inside to take out an ID card.

_Arashi Masuko: 14. Orphan. Oudan Middle School 2__nd__ year student. Residence: Tenikoto Orphanage… Hmmm… Blood type: B. He looks about 1'59 tall… I see. His orphanage bunkmates must be bullies who abuse him and he doesn't want to sleep with them anymore thus why he's here. Tee, heh, heh. Let's begin our little scheme._

She snapped her right hand's fingers and a Dimensional Converter emerged from the ground: it silently engaged and both she and Arashi were warped out of the ATM room to reappear in an unlit brick-walls basement elsewhere.

_Good. All the stuff I need is here. Let's set up some "ambience" to blame the owners of this shut down place. I should firstly check if their equipment was left behind which it surely was. _

She headed into a nearby storeroom and checked it out using a flashlight she picked from a shelf.

_Bingo and bravo! There's plenty of stuff here. Tee, heh, heh. Let's start the "ritual" for tonight… I'm SO clever! And I'm SO evil! Tee, heh, heh!_

01:38 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 6th…

_Heh, heh, heh. It's done!_

Empress had tossed the cloak asides and put on a one-piece red leather suit along with large gloves and heeled boots.

The upper part of it was shaped to let her breasts' shape be vaguely seen.

She held a black whip on her hands.

She'd also lit the basement using red candles thus giving it a creepy illumination.

Arashi had been stripped of his clothes and had some gear on: there was a thin leather band around his neck with a small metallic ring.

There were another two interconnected bands of adjustable bands which passed over his shoulders, ran down his sides and circled around his ankles, almost scratching his member.

A small circle had been set on the base of his cock with three bands circling around the whole of his sack.

He also had some metallic pieces set on his forearms, which were currently placed behind him and locked together with a small metallic piece.

A black wool blindfold covered his eyes and a small plastic spheroid with many small holes and with a black leather band to adjust it circled around his lower head and muffled his mouth.

To complement it, he had two clothes pegs set on his nipples: one was made of plastic and colored red: it was placed on the right one and facing forward while The other was made of wood and set on his left one: it was horizontal.

Four small capsule-shaped pink-colored objects connected by wires were cello tape – attached above his nipples and on his armpits.

His cock had some ropes tied around the base and a white urethra plug set on it: nine clothes pegs were clipped to his balls, too.

Another two capsule-shaped objects were set on both sides of his head.

Arashi was placed atop a triangular wooden horse: his ankles were connected by a rigid black steel bar with cuffs on each end set beneath the horse to limit how much he could stand.

A 5cm wide black silicon vibrator filled with spots emerging from the horse had been shoved up his insides: it looked painful.

Two ropes had been tied above and below his nipples and immobilizing his arms to force them to be behind his body.

_S&M gear looks so good on men! It makes them steep down from their "proud" position to being mere "servants"!_

Arashi seemed to wake up and look around in an obviously confused manner.

"Welcome to the Ancient Mansion… Kobe's #1 S&M club ruled by us women…" She tried to sound imposing and used a voice distorter.

Arashi seemed to gasp and try to move only to realize that he was immobilized.

"What's this about? Easy… We pick lone men like you and bring them here: they become mere servants. Names don't exist. You're just Slave #123. This place has been running for a decade already…. The only reason you are kept alive is to serve both masters and customers as long as your body is healthy. It doesn't matter if your mindset is destroyed: the flesh is what interests us. And it's impossible to run from this fate, servant! Those who try to flee only end up wishing we'd killed them instead of punishing them all night long…" She explained with obvious evil.

Arashi was obviously in terror by now and increasing his efforts to try to escape.

"Futile. Let me show you what a "Living Hell" means." She told him while laughing aloud.

She turned on all of the vibrators and Arashi shook: his body convulsed and his cock soon got hard but was unable to release.

_Tee, heh, heh. You deserve it!_

Empress then climbed behind him and stuffed a strap-on she'd attached into his insides as well while moving in and out: she used the whip to strike his back.

"Hah, hah, hah! How does it feel? Do you regret conspiring to rule over women? Say it!" She exclaimed.

Arashi struggled in vain and seemed to be overwhelmed by all the pain and torture he was being forced to undergo.

"I'll bring you to your limit, servant." She icily announced.

She began pulling the clothes pegs and gripped his balls: Arashi looked about to collapse at any moment.

"Tee, heh, heh. Not yet. Experience the flames which you men used to impose your religion in the ancient eras!" She exclaimed.

She picked two candles and began to make the wax drop into Arashi's body: some muffled cries of fear and pain could be heard coming out of his mouth.

"Pray to your useless Kami – sama: that's a myth. There's only one's own strength… The power of the _Dark Side_… Remember this! You can't run away from this fate! Disappear!" She exclaimed.

She took the plug out and Arashi released a lot of his liquid in vigorous and violent spasms: he let out a large muffled cry and lost consciousness as evidenced by how his head collapsed.

"Ah… Refreshing. Good. Let's toss this guy where we found him and find another for next time…" She sounded eager.

She unstrapped him and began to remove all the gear on him: his facial expression denoted that he'd been in pain before fainting.

"Good! This pain will be engraved in your body! Remember! Your fate is to submit to women! Maybe one day you'll end up in Anaya Maria's clutches: that'd be amusing to see. Thanks for the "inspiration", Maria! Tee, heh!"

02:56 AM (Japan Time)...

"… No~!"

Arashi Masuko woke up with a start inside of the ATM cabin: his eyes' irises were blue.

He slowly looked around and checked his hands.

"A… nightmare…?" He slowly muttered.

He looked outside at the still pitch-black streets and then at his hands again.

"… No…! Everything on me hurts… Burns… Aches…! And yet… I'm still sane…? Kami – sama… That voice… It won't leave me alone… It'll know how to find me… It'll know all of my secrets… It'll slowly destroy my persona and turn me into a mindless puppet…! But I… I've never intended to do harm to anyone…! Why….! Why did this happen to me…? Why am I so disgraceful in life…?" He muttered while his eyes displayed shock and his body trembled.

He slowly lied back on the second blanket beneath him and covered his body with the first one as he cried.

_No… I don't want to experience that again…! I'll tell the police…! They'll surely find them and judge them…! And the next course, I'll… transfer to another school… Another city… And start a new life… There's nothing left for me in Kobe anymore…!_

He clenched his fists, closed his eyes and made a grimace as he finally fell asleep: he looked like his life would make a dramatic change in the near future.

"... Hmmm... This kind of person could do..."

Someone was looking through the ATM's security camera and had obviously seen what had happened.

"You could do a good helper in the future... I'll write it down..."

_Arashi Masuko! You wish to bring those down? Then come to my side!_


	19. Chapter 18: Verbal confrontation

**Chapter 18: Verbal confrontation**

08:33 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 6th…

"… Alright. Good morning."

Chief Lezareno grumbled something under his breath once he'd placed the receiver of a phone atop a desk back on its place.

_How the hell did "KO" find out that the Justice Council was looking into that Ukrainian Mafia, anyway? Wait… They may have been hacking their network using a back logger Trojan… The Justice Council is very discrete when handling such investigations! Damned "KO" and Twilight! _

The phone on his desk rang and a red LED blinked on top of one of the quick-call buttons.

_Line 2? Administration Department? What could Mr. Adam need? _

"Security Department: Chief Lezareno. What may I help you with, Mr. Adam?" He asked.

"I am looking for a North Korean." A soft man's voice replied Japanese register and using the 'ware' personal pronoun.

Lezareno stood up while leaning on the desk with one hand: he then pressed a button labeled 'Record' and made a scowl.

"Huh! "KO"! I'm not going to be fooled!" He cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm glad to see that your reputation isn't a bluff, Chief Lezareno." The caller chuckled.

"Hmpf! I'm flattered." He scoffed.

"Well… That mafia stuff happened to be a little investment which didn't prove to be too useful, so… I tossed it into the disposal waste bin."

"And you sent your assassin to do the job: I've gotten a report of the scene from the Interpol." Chief Lezareno grumbled.

"Ah… The Interpol… Correct. Mr. D Zero is very skilled at his job but those guys stood no chance to begin with, so…"

"Che. Wander across the Sahara forever!" Lezareo told him.

"The Sahara…? I'd rather pick Silicon Valley." He laughed.

"Hmpf. And you'll steal off the new iPod Touch 2, too?" Lezareno sarcastically questioned.

"I think it's still in production… No. I'll patent "Moogle" to replace "Google", Chief." He joked.

"Hmpf. Then Bill Gates and Steve Jobs will have your head in a silver platter." Lezareno made a smug smile.

"Oh my. I wasn't expecting someone of your rank needing to resort to such… threatening language." He sounded surprised.

"Hah. I hit a soft spot?" Lezareno teased.

"Maybe." He drily replied.

"Heh. You're not fond of our arrows hitting the bull's eye… Why else would you bother to go to such ends just to conceal your hideout's location? We've been unable to scan for it, but… It matters not. No – one is perfect: Mr. Vadous isn't, we aren't and no – one is." Lezareno shot at him next.

"I never claimed being perfect: I'm skilled and paranoid. Else I wouldn't have been able t conceal myself so well…" The caller muttered.

"Of course: that assassin is just what you needed! You're starting to look like Anaya, even. Guess it's to be expected…" Lezareno made a grimace upon pronouncing the name.

"Anaya…? Oh. Ice Queen – sama, you mean to say… Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh… Of course! I am making Her Grace be proud of my actions. Her Grace must be laughing at you gentlemen while closed inside of the prison Her Grace is retained at. Fail – safe: so as to speak!" The caller sounded very amused by now.

"Hmpf. It wouldn't surprise me. Go try to invent the next Windows to replace Vista. Or better yet: the Mac OS X 10.7."

"… Hmmm… Tempting, even…" The caller teased.

"Tempting… Don't make me laugh. Go blow up the Death Star piloting a second-hand X – Wing!"

"Did you know something? That port which allowed the Rebels to destroy it… It was placed there by accident by a Wookiee engineer who wanted to use his criteria instead of the one set in the plans! His _senpai_ forgot to write down that it was unnecessary, so when he got ill and a replacement came in, she found they'd already built. Surprised?" The caller explained.

"Where did you get that from?" Lezareno frowned.

"_Star Wars: Death Star_ by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry. Del Rey. October 16, 2007." The caller concreted.

"Ah. I see." Lezareno drily replied.

"As Bright Man used to say… _Check it out_! Maybe a horde of Ewoks is going to overrun the city one day!"

"… So… You're hooked into the "eternal youth" _cliché_?" Lezareno suddenly questioned.

"Eh…? Excuse me…?"

"Your voice sounds slightly pitchy." He pointed out.

"I'm toying with a voice altering device." The caller admitted yet it sounded like it'd been improved on the spot.

"Ah. I should've imagined it. Maybe a whale will swallow you up and you'll have to find your way out?" Lezareno grinned.

"… Those repulsive grunts had to talk about it… Because of them… I now feel…" The caller grumbled.

"Ah. I hit a nerve." Lezareno looked amused.

"… Rabidly! Overwhelmingly! Vehemently disgusted!" The caller suddenly roared in a deep and imposing voice.

"Magnificent." Lezareno kept on looking amused.

"… It doesn't matter who it is…! I have to discharge this outburst of anger…!" He exclaimed next.

"Shatter the goldfish's water tank." Lezareno suggested.

"Well… Even if I say that… A gentleman sans experience like you, sir, against the Demon Tribe Chief Mr. Freeze Man is wouldn't fare much well, or so one would one think…" He sounded calmer by now.

"You never know!" Lezareno grinned.

"Even if you were allowed to try again after a hundred years, sir, you still wouldn't be able to overcome me, sir." He politely announced.

"Heh. Leech." Lezareno provoked.

There was a knock on the door and Lezareno looked up.

"Chief?" Colonel Talos' voice rang out.

"Come in, Colonel." Lezareno invited while covering the receiver's microphone.

Colonel Talos came in and Lezareno signaled the chair while making the "silence" sign with one finger: Talos lifted his eyebrows slightly but sat down nevertheless.

"Do excuse me. I was attending a little bureaucratic procedure: I'm a busy man." Lezareno told the caller.

"I see. Sacred Maiden – sama appeared there?" The caller asked while barely holding back his laughter.

"Sacred Maiden – sama…?" Lezareno looked like he didn't catch the joke this time.

"Turkey! In a row! Strike! Perfect game! Heh, heh, heh." The caller laughed.

"Ah. And if Sacred Maiden – sama were to be here… You'd come to claim Her Grace?" Lezareno asked.

"Obviously, sir." He confirmed.

"Maybe the WWW Team will find it first?" Lezareno challenged.

"Maybe, sir." He admitted.

"Ah. But I'd rather say you prefer Her Grace to Ms. Iroaya's second-hand make-up." He teased.

"Correct, sir… A butterfly is better than a bee." The adversary enigmatically replied.

"So then! Are you going to dance across the icy pavement of the Red Square? _Comrade_?" Colonel Talos suddenly challenged.

"Huh? Ah… Colonel Talos! Former Soviet military… Maybe they need you to pacify the chaos the Motherland is today?" "KO" asked.

"No. My skills are reserved to bring you into the surface from beneath the ice in Siberia." Colonel Talos challenged.

"Heh, heh, heh…. Heh, heh, heh… I'd rather go by Canada's ice." "KO" chuckled again.

"The crawling snakes will have a feast with your flesh, _Comrade_." Colonel Talos warned.

"Ah… I should've expected it from such a gentleman… Maybe I should make a move and help Mr. Freeze Man with planning new sorties and all while Twilight – sama is away ." He laughed.

"So Twilight is still missing... Or you could be you misleading us too: and we already knew Freeze Man was in charge." Lezareno sounded suspicious of the claim.

"Welcome to the patent war." "KO" welcomed.

"Hmpf. Shatter your own foolishness." Lezareno drily told him.

"Heh, heh, heh… Well then… It's been entertaining, gentlemen! But my obligations recall me. Good morning, gentlemen."

The line went dead and Lezareno placed the receiver on its place.

"What damned foolish guys!" Talos grumbled.

Lezareo took out a cell phone from his suit's inner pocket and dialed a number.

"Chief? What's up?" Vadous asked.

"Good morning, Mr. Vadous. "KO" just called me to show-off about his schemes." Lezareno summarized.

"Che. Bothersome mouse." Vadous grumbled.

"It turns out he wanted to use the Ukrainian Mafia as a demonstration of which ends he's capable of coming to when he sets his mind to it. He's fond of some humor, it'd seem." Lezareno explained.

"I'm still working on trying to locate their HQ, but… Long-range scans won't do it. I'll have to think of something else." Vadous let out a sigh of defeat.

"True. The problem is deciding _where_ to start. The real-world base doesn't need to be in Japan to begin with." Talos muttered.

"Ah. Good morning, Colonel Talos… You're correct, Colonel: I'm confused as to where to begin scanning. But he can't hope to stay off the radar anymore: he'll make a mistake." Vadous muttered.

"Let's hope this doesn't involve civilian casualties, too… It's quickly menacing to be the precursor to a new type of warfare altogether, even…!" Lezareno muttered.

"Gentlemen. It isn't wise to give up in such a spot. It'd be wiser to continue as we were: if a strong lead appears, then we can easily seize it up." Colonel Talos suggested.

"I like that line of thought. I'll get back to work. Good morning, gentlemen…" Vadous sounded like he agreed on it.

"I'll resume organizing our operations and schedules. Gentlemen: we must not falter." Lezareno stood up.

"Let us fight back with honor." Colonel Talos rallied.

"True! Let us!"

08:56 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Oi! Maha! Tell me! Who the heck arranged the stuff in the storeroom like that? Every time I search the shelves, something heavy crushes my feet! I'm going to end up having to use a wheelchair at this rate!"

Hinoken was discussing with Maha as they opened the restaurant up that morning.

"Maybe I should pick up my book about _feng shui_ again…" Maha brought a hand to his chin and seemed to be thinking about it.

"By all the…! You're impossible!" Hinoken grumbled.

"Tee, heh, heh. Hinoken will burn out the snow." Colored Man whispered to the others.

"Don't say nonsense or Hinoken – sama will get a fit of anger." Fire Man nervously whispered back.

"We don't need another fight." Elec Man grumbled.

"Dr. Wily – sama wouldn't approve of it, gentlemen." Magic Man whispered to them.

"Hah. _It's a curse_!" Count Elec grinned.

"The curse of Count Elec's unshaven beard…" Madoi dully told them.

"_What_! Madoi! That was _horrible_! _My God_!" He gasped.

"Hah. Punk Man got scolded by his housewife!" Hinoken laughed.

"Hinoken. Count Elec. This can't end up good." Maha warned.

"_Good grief_! I'll have some _red-beard cocktail_! Hah!"

"I'll have some _punk cocktail_! Hah!"

"Trouble, trouble…" Madoi grimly muttered.

"Catastrophe…" Maha grimly muttered.

He and Madoi sighed while the other two looked about to fight…

09:26 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Emperor S – sama. Thou have called for me?"

"I did. There's something I need to talk with you, Sidier."

Sidier was kneeling in front of the throne: Emperor S was leaning both arms on the armrests and looking towards him.

"Well! Do you know anything about a group named "Ancient Mansion" in Kobe? They seem to have been resurrected given how the police had shut them down four months ago." Emperor S questioned.

"I apologize, but… I haven't been monitoring other news. I was busy making sure the "Committee" believed they were pitting themselves against "KO", Emperor S – sama." He bowed.

"Ah. Guess so… Hmmm… No. Nothing. Don't be overconfident, either. Take care." Emperor S shrugged.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir…"

"Tee, heh, heh. Si – chan is ready for my newest parody." H suddenly walked in.

"The great catastrophe…" Emperor S groaned.

"H – dono… I'm over." Sidier gulped.

"Tee, heh, heh. Don't be so dramatic, you boys… You won't die from looking at it!" She giggled.

She activated the holographic screen and displayed a cartoonish drawing of Sidier kneeling in front of a pebble: a text bubble had been inserted above him.

"This warrior shall not bother Stone – sama again. Stone – sama warned the warrior that it was walking this road, yet the warrior paid no heed to Her Grace's warnings. The warrior offended it by tripping with it. It shall not happen twice. If it does, the warrior will commit _seppuku_ to redeem its lost honor. It is a noble _Sengoku samurai_'s pledge to Her Grace Stone – sama."

Sidier turned deep red and lowered his sight while Emperor S went and slapped his own face in defeat: H laughed while B dragged his feet inside while yawning.

"I come over from my camping and we get a scandal… What's going on this time?" He grumbled.

"Have a look, B – chan." H teased.

"What the… Why did ya do such a cruel thing to Sidier? He was being mannered when he spoke with long speeches!" B groaned.

"Nope! That lock-driven personality S – chan put on Si – chan was stupid: that's why I came up with this. His new personality is 10,000 times better, even! Tee, heh, heh!" She giggled.

"Sidier… I'll hand you some instructions for a special strategy I thought of: follow them and all will go smoothly." Emperor S commanded.

"Yes, sir. By your orders, sir!"

A screen with some data popped out: Sidier transferred it and then saluted again before heading over to the gateway.

"Goodbye."

"Bring your girlfriend over next time!" H teased.

Sidier turned red again and H exploded into hysterical laughter as B and Emperor S looked at their limits.

"Go. Seriously. Go." Emperor S grumbled.

"Y-yes, sir… Later, sir…"

Sider jumped into the gateway while Emperor S and B ran off the room to leave H to laugh aloud.

"Si – chan! You're _cute_ and easy to tease! I'm going to have fun for ages teasing you over and over again! Tee, heh, heh! I'm a genius! Tee, heh, heh!" She exclaimed.

"No, you aren't." Both guys grumbled.

"Oh? You want a teaser?"

"No, we don't."

"Oh? You wanna synchronize?"

"And so what?" Both fumed.

"Never mind. Sandals and Barks."

"WHAT?" Both were annoyed by now.

"Tee, heh, heh. Hite a vibe~! So! I still say it's gonna be Marble!"

"We can't know yet!" Emperor S fumed.

"Yeah! We're but speculating!"

"And the Poké Special authors are saving up 'cause they're naming the girl "ojou-sama" 'till now…" She teased.

"Yes! We know. But… Having that formal speech manner the whole time for a girl who isn't even 13 yet… Feels odd… No offense but…" Emperor S sighed and sounded resigned.

"Ya know, ya have a point… She's over-doing it, really… She should be more carefree! But maybe that'd be a repeat of Sapphire's character in which she didn't know how to read or write _kanji_… Too much time helping her genius dad in field work and no time spent teaching her _kanji_… Or _Katana_! She wrote her name in _hiragana_!" H muttered.

"See?" B sighed.

"I'm off to inventing "H – sama's Alternate Poké Spe" for M publics and in which those two guys lick the Mistress' boots!"

She ran off while giggling aloud and both guys sighed.

"H – chan isn't really a sadist: she just wants to sound scary!" Emperor S sighed.

"Of course! We've lived with her for about 10 years!" B fumed.

Both guys sounded fed up with the whole deal by now…


	20. Chapter 19: Impersonation

**Chapter 19: Impersonation**

09:05 AM (Mexico City Time), Monday January the 7th…

"… The telephone…? Who…?"

A man rushed next to a phone ringing inside of a house somewhere: he looked on his thirties: he had reddish hair and sun burnt skin.

His eyes' irises were brown.

"Hello?" He asked.

"I'm looking for a North Korean." A soft voice replied in Spanish.

"So! You wanna have General Campestre revolt against the tyranny of that Felipe Calderón?" The man asked.

"_Señor_ Vincent "Red": I'm being serious. I want to hire you." The caller told him.

"Heh, heh, heh! Good, good! So! What's the job about?" Vincent asked with a grin.

"You will impersonate a businessman in Paris for some hours. And I'll make sure they don't suspect you afterwards. I've opened a deposit from which you can draw the necessary funds. I hope 750,000 Credits will be enough?" The man explained.

"Whoa~! There'll be more than enough… Sorry. What's your name, _Señor_ Customer?" Vincent looked amazed.

"Mr. Kenneth Onderson: an English businessman who desires to see those Jacobin men a puzzle which they won't be able to solve…" The man introduced himself and sounded amused.

"Count on me! Vincent "Red" will make their brains boil 'till only steam is left on 'em!" Vincent grinned.

"Oho. Perfect. I knew I could count on a pro! Goodbye." Mr. Kenneth chuckled.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius!" Vincent muttered aloud.

18:55 PM (Paris Time), Wednesday January the 8th…

"… _Oui_? Le Count de Rivalou's Home Office..."

Le Count de Rivalou answered to a phone call while inside of his manor's office: evening had begun to creep outside of the mansion.

"Le Count de Rivalou? It is me, _Messier_ Brown." The caller politely announced.

"_Messier_ Brown of the Interpol! What a pleasant surprise! Did you find something?" Le Count asked.

"It regards "KO"… We believe we've managed to ID them."

"By all the…! Please explain."

"He's currently staying in Paris using the name Kenneth Onderson and a King Land passport…"

"Kenneth Onderson! Where are they?" Le Count sounded amused.

"A two – star hotel in the suburbs of Paris: the "Napoleon Hotel". He was registered three hours ago, around 15:55 PM. He's a man on his late 40s, black hair, blue eye irises, clean shaven… About 1'83 tall…"

"Hum. So the man bothered to show up to tease us. I have an acquaintance in the DCPJ: he could monitor him."

"Perfect. Good – bye, _Messier Le Count_. I will keep you informed."

"Good – bye, _Messier_ Brown."

Le Count picked up the phone again and dialed a number

"Jerome? _Oui_! It is me, François. I need you to run inquires on a man staying at the "Napoleon Hotel": Kenneth Onderson. I told you about the ruckus he's been organizing, so… There's more than enough reason to keep an eye on his movements." Le Count requested.

"I understand. We'll look into it ASAP." Jerome confirmed.

"Good. This is a golden chance we've been waiting for! Let's seize it!"

19:31 PM (Paris Time)…

"… Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for assisting to tonight's conference... The topic will be "The European Union's New Economy"."

A man was speaking while standing on a podium placed inside of a conference room which was filled with people.

"… Hum!"

The man described by Mr. Brown, Kenneth Onderson, was sitting in one of the seats and apparently paying attention.

He was indeed about a meter and eighty tall.

His black hair was neatly combed and he had traces of a recent shaving of a few hours ago.

His eyes' irises were blue.

He wore a simple black suit, a blue tie, pants and brown shoes.

A brown raincoat was folded over his lap too.

"… So there they are…"

Another man was overlooking the conference room close by.

He was on his forties and had a thin black beard plus black hair while his eyes' irises were brown.

He had reading glasses on and looked serious.

He also had a discrete earphone on his right ear and a disguised micro on the necktie of his tie.

"This is Jerome. Do you hear me, Simon?" He whispered.

"_Oui_, _Capitaine_."

"What have you found on his suitcase?" He questioned.

"Clothes sir. There also was a book about the economical evolution of the European Union, _Capitaine_. We didn't find anything particular on it."

"How many days would those clothes last?" Jerome questioned.

"Three or four days, at the most, sir."

"Has he used the room's phone at all?" Jerome asked next.

"He called the front desk to request a wake – up call for tomorrow at six o'clock." Simon reported.

"_Oui_. Roger, Simon. Keep an eye out near the hotel just in case someone tries to approach him there." Jerome commanded.

"_Oui_,_ Capitaine_." Simon acknowledged.

"Over and out."

Jerome narrowed his eyes and checked his wrist watch.

_The conference has just started, and it's scheduled to last for about an hour. It won't do any harm to go for a stroll: my men are keeping watch of all the exits. _

The man left for a moment half-way through the conference to go to the restroom: he then took out a prepayment cell phone and dialed a number.

"Mr. Freeze Man…? Yes. It's me, Mr. Onderson. Everything's going smoothly. The conference is giving me good ideas."

"Good job, _Señor_ Vincent. That tale about you having received training from the CIA was true, then. Keep on acting like that and you'll be back at Mexico City by tomorrow." Someone replied.

"Roger. Tell Mr. Cosmo Man to not go loose on the troops: they've gotta be ready for new sorties. Later."

Vincent pocketed the cell phone after turning it off and chuckled under his breath.

_I'm a genius! And Calderón will soon be kicked out by the patriotic and grand and supreme and eternal General Campestre~! The guy's but a straw man the Washington guys pulled outta some office drawer and sent here to keep us controlled! _Viva la revolución_! Mwah, hah, hah!_

20:07 PM (Paris Time)…

_Heh, heh, heh._

Vincent, still disguised, walked out of the conference hall with the crowd and was inwardly smiling: he then spotted a taxi and signaled for it to pull over.

"Taxi!"

He climbed inside and plucked the seatbelt.

"Go to the Napoleon Hotel." He instructed.

"_Oui, Monsieur_."

The taxi got there in just fifteen minutes.

"2,000 Credits, _Monsieur_." The driver announced.

"Here you have."

Vincent paid the exact import and then climbed off it: he then entered the hotel's reception.

"Good evening. I'd like the key for Room 27." He requested.

"Here you have, _Monsieur_. Good night, _Monsieur_." The clerk announced as he handed it to him.

"Thank you."

Vincent climbed into the 2nd floor using the stairs and unlocked the room with his key: he shut it from the inside with the safety lock and after placing the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign on the outside.

_Let's check…_

Vincent investigated the room and found everything in perfect order except that the suitcase's lock had one or two scratches which were hard to see.

_Oho! The DCPJ was looking in here, eh? Someone must be after this person I'm impersonating. Mr. Onderson predicted this might happen! _

He chuckled under his breath.

_So he arranged everything. And, besides, they'd need a permit from Interpol to arrest me. I'll be out of this city by tomorrow._

He got changed and made sure his mask kept on being on.

_Mr. Black is a good _caballero_: he knows that I'm a pro and gives me a chance to shine! Heh, heh, heh! Take that, you Committee guys!_

His cell-phone rang so he drew it out.

"Hi there~!"

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Onderson's good ol' pal. B for Brutus!" "B" was the caller.

"Oh! A pal, eh? Do I need to something else?" Vincent eagerly asked while forming a smug smile.

"Patent Vincent Man."

"HUH?"

"Kidding. Just get out of the city tomorrow and follow the instructions Onderson handed to you: all will be fine if ya do that."

"Roger, Boss!"

"And glory to General Campestre too!"

"Glory to General Campestre! _Viva la revolución_!"

"_Vivan los burritos y las chicas calientes_!"

"Eh… "Glory to the _burritos_ and hot girls!"…? What's that about, Mr. Brutus?" He didn't seem to find the point of the motto.

"Don't mind that, my fellow conspirer. I'm off and Onderson will soon tell you more about the payment for your little work. Bye-bye."

"What a weird fellow. Heh, heh, heh, heh! I'm a genius! I'm invincible! I'm superb! I'm grand! I'm gigantic!"

11:09 AM (Japan Time), Thursday January the 10th…

"… I'm beaten."

"Heh, heh, heh."

The twins were sitting on the chairs behind their desks in the middle school classroom: Netto looked exhausted, as evidenced by leaning his head on the desk, while Saito was working with his terminal and humming a tune: Blood Shadow suddenly appeared there.

"Hey! Blood! What's up?" Saito greeted.

"Huh? Ah! Blood's here!" Netto looked behind him at Saito's terminal screen.

"I just arrived right now. We found "KO"!" Blood Shadow announced with a broad grin.

"Wha! Where?" Both asked in a hushed tone.

"Paris. The name's Kenneth Onderson! We've got a photo!"

"Why did he bother to go there?" Netto asked as he crouched next to Saito to look at the screen and see the photo.

"Easy: he wants to get ideas on how to finance his activities. He must be plotting a hit somewhere." Blood Shadow explained.

"Yeah. He was alone, then?" Saito guessed.

"Correct. The DCPJ is trailing him as he moves around and they shouldn't have much trouble finding out his movements."

"The guy will be closed inside of a golden cage, you mean to say?" Saito grinned as well.

"Bingo. Le Count de Rivalou is going to make the guy regret shunning his Frenchman honor."

"Heh, heh, heh! It'll make Michelangelo look pale in comparison!"

"Sure thing." Saito confirmed.

11:26 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well. I come to check on the Science Labs' Level 1 Firewall and I find you snooping around… I've been eager to try you out."

"Damn."

Omega was clashing swords with D Zero just outside of the Science Labs' Level 1 Firewall: Omega looked eager and amused while D Zero was cursing aloud as he tried to block the quick attacks.

"I'm like Mace Windu and his Vaapad: too fast to be counted!" Omega grinned.

"S-shit." D Zero cursed.

Omega suddenly began to deliver a blur of punches and kicks to D Zero thus slowly pushing him backwards and overwhelming him in several spots: D Zero growled and was seemingly dizzy from Omega's repeated attacks: Omega finally delivered a powerful kick to his face and he collapsed into the ground to find Omega's O – Saber's end aimed at his neck.

"So! Your master showed up his skinny hide 'round Paris: you guys are plotting on raiding the Louvre Museum?" Omega asked.

"What would we gain from it?" D Zero grumbled.

"Fame, maybe?" Omega taunted.

"Who needs fame?" D Zero growled.

"Your aunt's ghost maybe does?" Omega grinned.

"What the… The "Professor" didn't have any sisters or brothers!" D Zero cursed.

"Oho… You can be literal sometimes. If Freeze Man told ya to go to a _rave_ party then you'd go and sweep the floor _fisherman's style_? This winter I feel in a good mood but guess the summer will dry it up."

"Grftjx! Freeze Man – sama is a serious person!"

"Can he read people's minds, then?" Omega lifted his eyebrows slightly and looked suspicious.

"No!" D Zero shot back.

"Ah. Gotcha. He likes being the Cyber Punk."

"Why, you…!" D Zero growled.

"Wrong. You two will fight to the death for the title. Ah! If any of your two skinny accomplices are around, then… None of your attacks can hope to harm me: know this." He called out.

His body shone with an orange aura and two Freeze Bullets were melted upon hitting it: three normal shots bounced off.

"D Search Man. Go play Archer at Age of Empires II: Mythology." Omega taunted.

"Grah!" D Search Man cursed from somewhere close.

"I've got a message from Bert Saxby: you're _fired_! Hra~h!"

Omega charged up energy on his O – Saber and lifted it above his head before hitting the ground with it: the resulting shockwave pushed D Zero into the sky and he was sent flying away along with D Search Man (whose optical camouflage shattered as he flew): both were soon out of human sight.

"Guess they'll be saying "hi" to the Apaches…" He muttered with some amusement on his voice.

"Nope! They'll be saying hi to Mario Vargas Llosa!" An amused familiar voice suggested instead.

Davis walked over to Omega: he'd switched off the O – Saber and was toying with it by tossing it into the air and catching it back.

"Not bad. What did you see?" Omega asked.

"You should defy a VR Windu and see whose Vaapad is deadlier! Heh, heh, heh." Davis chuckled.

"Yeah. Guess I'll have to do that. Maybe I should take Koppa on and rescue Princess Peach 'long the way." Omega grinned.

"Oi, oi… Are you talking about me?" Vadous sounded amused.

"Who knows?" Charles teased.

"ABC – sama knows." Davis improvised.

"Mr. Shoes." Omega countered.

"Showdown!" Davis challenged.

"Fine!"

"Order an order!" Davis announced.

"Compliment a compliment!" Omega improvised.

"Welcome to Duck Land: plenty of Duchesses to pick up!"

"Off from Duchess Land: welcome to Little Duchesses Land!"

"Stuff Calderón on the giant oven he came out from!"

"Stuff the guy into a DHL package and send it back to the Washington D. C. office dusty drawer from where he came out from."

"Call Luigi!"

"Call Mario!"

"Mario~!"

"Luigi~!"

"Oi, oi…" Vadous sounded surprised.

"Guess today there's some mood around!" Charles sounded like he was grinning.

"Rhyme a rhyme!"

"Tighten a tight!"

Both kept on joking: Vadous sounded baffled while Charles chuckled...

11:58 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Please punish us, Lord Sidier!"

"We were defeated in a reckless manner!"

"Oi, oi…"

Sidier looked like he didn't know how to handle his two DS Navis' attitude given his surprised face.

"But it was _THE_ Omega… It can't be helped! You weren't ready to fight such an opponent: that's all. Now take a rest and all will go fine." He seemingly improvised out of nervousness.

"Roger."

Both departed the main room and Sidier sighed in relief as headed over to his room and closed the door.

"Phew! They're quickly to admit failure, too… Well… Guess that makes them somewhat more balanced. In any case… Operation: Hammer is proceeding according to the plan. Heh, heh, heh. Those guys will be surprised! Maybe I should think of something "original" this time around, even…" He muttered with a grin.

He sat down on his chair and frowned: he brought up a holographic screen and read something as evidenced by his frowning.

"… Oh… Maybe this could be a basis? Hmmm… I'm not sure what Emperor S – sama will think of it… It's worth a try. After all… Aren't I supposed to be able to come up with strategies to push this experiment forward? They say all's fair in war, so…" He muttered.

He closed the screen and brought his custom sword out to have a look at it and grin.

"One day… It'll taste new flesh. It'll be interesting. I'll be looking forward to it, too! Heh, heh, heh." He chuckled.

He suddenly stood up and spread his arms wide while laughing aloud in an evil manner…


	21. Chapter 20: Escapee

**Chapter 20: Escapee**

08:45 AM (Paris Time), Thursday January the 10th…

"… Excuse me."

Jerome walked over to the reception desk of the "Napoleon Hotel".

"What might I help you with, _Monsieur_?" A clerk asked.

"DCPJ: Captain Jerome Blux. I am investigating a customer." He announced as he took out his ID.

"Another _Monsieur_ was here yesterday with a search warrant..." The clerk remembered.

"Exactly. Is he still in the hotel?" He asked.

"No, _Monsieur_. He left about two hours ago towards the Charles de Gaulle Airport. He paid in cash." The clerk replied.

"Good. Thank you. Have a nice day."

"_Oui, Monsieur_."

Jerome walked out of the hotel and climbed inside of a patrol car without looking concerned.

"Go to the Charles de Gaulle Airport." He ordered the policeman on the driver's seat.

"_Oui, Capitaine_."

"Huh? Phone call… Francois?"

"_Oui_. So?"

"Our bird is heading for the airport. I've warned them." Jerome reported.

"Let them swim: we want to get an idea of where they originate from since their passport shows that it's a fake and they're not really a King Land citizen to begin with."

"Delighted. Later."

08:52 AM (Japan Time)…

"… We are currently calling all passengers of flight DA156 with destination Atlanta which departs at 09:55 AM. All passengers please report to Gate C16."

Vincent, still disguised as Kenneth Onderson, walked towards the queue which was forming on the gate.

_Heh, heh, heh._

He showed the clerk his boarding pass, and he then boarded the airplane: he got a right – side seat next to the window: the person at his left looked like a French businessman.

_Let's see… Mr. Onderson's instructions went like this: "Once you pass passport control in Atlanta, pick your luggage and leave the arrivals zone. Find a restroom, and change into the other identity I've provided you with. Then you'll be able to catch the plane straight to Mexico City. When you reach Mexico City, your role will have concluded. Farewell, _Señor_ Vincent "Red"."_

"Please fasten your seatbelts, place the seats in the upright position and close the trays. Switch off any electronic devices." The captain announced through the PA system.

"We are closing main cabin door."

Vincent calmly placed the seat in the correct position and fastened the seat-belt as the plane got slowly pushed away from the terminal and carried towards the main track.

_Heh, heh, heh! Well! It was fun. I finally got to SHINE! Shine, shining, shining shines of shinning! I'll patent this rhyme! And Uncle Maligno will praise me!_

The plane waited in the queue for take-off and finally got their turn so it stopped, accelerated the engines, raced across the track and finally took off into the skies.

_Adiós, muchachos!_ _I win this round! I'm INVINCIBLE! Heh, heh, heh!_

09:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Francois? Me. Jerome."

"What became of our sly fox? Where are they flying to?"

Le Count was distractedly tapping his marble desk while he heard to Mr. Brown's report.

"He's flying towards Atlanta as we speak!"

"Is that so? Don't make any moves yet: let's let him be for a while and try to keep an eye on his movements. He may unwillingly lead us to his hideout." Le Count requested.

"Yeah. That's what we'd agreed upon anyway. Bye"

"Good-bye."

Le Count placed the receiver on its place and took out a cell phone from his suit's chest pocket to dial a number.

"_Messier _Vadous? It's me: Le Count de Rivalou." He announced.

"_Messier_ Le Count. So… What happened with that guy?"

"He's flying to Atlanta." He replied.

"Hum! So they're in Ameroupe after all, then." Vadous muttered while sounding slightly satisfied.

"_Madame _Argad called an acquaintance of hers at the NSA to give us a hand in tracking him." Le Count announced while he toyed with his pen.

"Excellent. He stepped into the golden cage." Vadous sounded amused.

"True. I'll explain to it _Doctor_ Spimer as well."

"Perfect. Good-bye !"

Le Count pocketed the cell phone and brought a hand to his chin.

_So! Kenneth! You want a trap? You will have one! And you'll tell us why Anaya Maria labeled you "trustee" to begin with. _

14:45 PM (Atlanta Time)…

"… Jessica? It's me: Jacinta Secreta."

A person had phoned Ms. Argad: she was using her cell phone to speak with the caller while standing on her company's HQ roof: she was smoking a cigarette while speaking as well.

"Jacinta. What's up? Where did Onderson go to?" She calmly asked.

"Truth is… We were monitoring the surroundings and the insides of Atlanta International Airport, but…" She trailed off.

"But…?" Ms. Argad frowned.

"He _vanished_! And he didn't take a taxi, a private car and neither the rail train service! We searched all of the exits!"

"WHAT?" She exclaimed.

"I'm serious, Jessica! The guy simply _vanished_ into thin air!" Jacinta exclaimed.

"… I was expecting that to happen. No way it'd be so easy to catch them to begin with." Ms. Argad sighed.

"We're running a covert investigation: maybe he had accomplices on the inside which helped him escape via another exit." She sounded defeated.

"He could've disguised." Ms. Argad calmly suggested.

"Oh! We hadn't thought of that one." Jacinta admitted.

"Search the litter! I'm sure there must be a plastic mask on it."

"Leave it to us. Nobody fools the NSA and gets away with it."

"The politicians do." Ms. Argad sarcastically replied.

"Hey! What was that for, Jessica?" Jacinta sounded offended.

"I was being sarcastic, Jacinta. You know me."

"Ah! I like that better. Back to work for me. 'Bye!"

05:45 AM (Japan Time), Friday January the 11th…

"… Boss… You're already awake? It's not even 06:00 AM…"

"I'm impatient."

"I can see that."

Omega had come into the command bridge and found Vadous sitting on the armchair while drinking some hot coffee: he looked surprised and Vadous did look impatient: his cell phone rang.

"Finally." He muttered.

He picked it up and opened the lid.

"Mr. Vadous? Have I woken you?" Chief Lezareno asked.

"No. What's up?" Vadous asked.

"Onderson vanished in Atlanta. But Ms. Argad believes he disguised to leave or pick another flight. The problem is… Without any criteria, it'll be impossible to know which flight… He could've picked a man on his 60s look, too…" Lezareno reported.

"… I see. Good work. But now we know his aim was to toy with us by showing up and vanishing…"

"Hmmm… Disguise…? Where does that ring a bell?" Omega brought his right hand to his chin.

"Mr. Omega has an idea?" Lezareno asked.

"Wait… Atlanta… Hmmm… No… Ah… Say… How much time do you need to travel by plane from Atlanta to Mexico City?" Omega asked.

"1:30 hours, more or less…" Lezareno replied.

"Mexico City…? Ah! Vincent!" Vadous realized.

"Vincent, you say! Of course…! He was trained by the CIA! He could've posed as "Onderson" to fool us into trying to catch him!"

"Yeah. I'm sure that the mask in Atlanta will have some traces of him."

"Then we have to get into movement ASAP: we must question Vincent as to how he was approached." Lezareno rallied.

"Wait, wait. That's too obvious. Onderson knew we'd find it out in less than 24 hours. He surely left a dead end on place." Omega warned.

"I don't care: we need to keep the guy under check or the next time he's gonna stir up chaos inside of our ranks." Vadous replied.

"Fine… Maybe Colonel Talos will have an easier time handling the guy, given their common base…"

"I'll suggest it to him once he comes to the office. Good morning, gentlemen."

"Later."

Vadous sighed in defeat and lazily attached the cell phone to the belt before rolling his eyes.

"I'm off to the bed. You're in charge." He told Omega.

"Roger."

"If you wanna play, make sure to start an empty file." Vadous warned.

"Gotcha."

Vadous ran off the command bridge while Omega sat down, moved the chair forward, and began to type into the keyboard.

"Let's play for a while…" He muttered.

He brought up the game and began playing while humming a tune: a beep suddenly rang out all of a sudden so Omega stopped the game and had a look at one screen.

"What! Spy program…! And the latest update picked it up? This would explain why they were always steps ahead of us: they listened into all of our conversations and phone calls… But this is as far as it comes. Maze Program: Engage!" Omega gasped.

He grinned and inputted some commands into the keyboard…

05:56 AM (Japan Time)…

"… W-what's that?"

Sidier was looking at what seemed to be live feed from the spy program: walls had formed around it and it seemed to be walking around a real maze.

"A maze…? Where did it come out from…? Crap." He muttered.

Alarms rang out on Sidier's end: Sigma had showed up in front of the program and was grinning.

"Come at full power!" He challenged while swinging his sword and making a boasting gesture.

He suddenly warped and reappeared behind the program: he gripped it with his free hand and turned it around to look directly into: his face looked extremely creepy when seen at close-quarters.

"Hah, hah, hah! Struggle in despair! Useless! You're in _my_ hands! Freeze Man! You've fallen into a bottomless pit! Game Over!" He laughed.

"At least they still think it's the work of Freeze Man and "Kenneth Onderson"…" Sidier muttered.

"Sigma. Quit dramatizing and bring that over for analysis." Omega's voice rang out with a hint of annoyance.

"Roger."

"I won't let it." Sidier grinned.

He snapped his right hand's fingers and some "WARNING" screens popped out: some purple streaks of light began to be emitted by the program and Sigma made a grimace.

"Shit! Didn't we complete that self-destruction prevention system, Commander Omega? This thing is about to do that!" Sigma called out.

"Crap." Omega muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh… _No pain_, _no gain_… _Bye-bye_, guys…"

06:04 AM (Japan Time)

"… Damn. No matter how further I look… There's not a bit or byte of data left! Bothersome Freeze Man!"

Sigma was patrolling the HQ's Cyber World and seemingly looking for any leftovers of the spy program.

"That damned Killer Eye blew up and left nothing behind!" He grumbled aloud.

"I see. Pity… We got distracted and didn't finish the nullifier… We should really work on it. Go back to sleep, Sigma. Blood will take care of the escorting in an hour's time." Omega sighed.

"Roger."

Omega slapped his face and then resumed playing while looking like he wanted to shake his frustration off.

"Che. Bothersome guys! I'd like to bring out a mushroom, grow, and throw fireballs at 'em! And make the castle crumble on top of them, too… That'd be lovely." He muttered while making a grin.

"… Man. I get woken up in vain. I better nap for some hours."

Sigma stepped into a room containing three cylinder-shaped capsules with half-sphere ends: they were inclined and aligned near the wall: each one had a control panel in front of it with wires linking to it.

"Huff."

The rightmost one was larger and wider than the other two: both the centermost one and the rightmost one's covers were open while the leftmost capsule's cover was still closed.

"Blood will do fine." He muttered.

He climbed into his capsule and pulled the cover down using a handle built inside: he looked out through the small glass rectangle before relaxing: some compartments opened and a few wires connected to some ports on his body: the redness on his eyes faded and he seemed to fall asleep…

07:45 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Good morning."

"'Morning…"

"Hello."

The twins met up with Meiru on the institute's entrance: Yaito's limo pulled over: she climbed out while Dekao and Tooru rushed over there.

"Let's go…" Netto yawned.

"Netto – kun… Please make sure to wash your face: you look like a troglodyte!" Saito grinned.

"True!" Meiru grinned.

"Man. You guys win…" Netto grumbled.

A teacher unlocked the front entrance and they all headed into their classroom: Saito checked his Link PET and spotted Blood Shadow inside of the device.

"What happened with Onderson?" Saito asked.

"It turns out it was Vincent: the real guy hired him. And they'd put a spy program in the HQ, too, but it blew up." Blood Shadow sighed.

"I knew it was too good to be true!" Netto grumbled.

"In short: we're stuck."

"Lovely way of starting the day…" Tooru muttered with obvious sarcasm.

"Yeah. Guess so." Meiru muttered.

"Che! I'll boycott their business!" Yaito fumed.

"Yeah! I'll smash them!" Dekao got cocky.

"Find them to begin with. And try to survive." Saito grumbled in clear annoyance.

"YIKES!"

"Aha-hah!" Meiru grinned.

"Man."

"By the way! Tooru – kun!"

"What now, Yaito – chan?" Tooru rolled his eyes.

"Bring me some exotic ice next time around. Tee, heh, heh." She made up some silly request.

"Sure, sure. And where do I find _that_?" He groaned.

"Dunno. Maybe in Ice Man's hood…"

"Desu? My hood…?" Ice Man wondered.

"What's a hood, de guts?" Guts Man wondered next.

"No way…" Roll looked skeptical by now.

"He doesn't know what a hood is!" Glyde gasped.

"Ops… Trouble… I guess…" Dekao trailed off.

"Sure thing… Dekao! When will you try to upgrade Guts Man?" Netto asked with rising annoyance.

"Shaddup! Guts Mans' invincible and he'll beat those punks!" Dekao got arrogant again.

"Try to face a mass-produced Metal Gear RAY! And live to tell it!"

"YIKES!"

"Aha-hah! Not so "overwhelmingly strong" anymore! Eh?"

"Yikes! Meiru – chan! Please don't make that creepy grin!"

"It keeps guys like cha at bay to begin with so I won't give it up."

"Man. Today's not my best day… I'm cursed!"

"Oh! I know! I'll invent the Ice Milk: only for cool people!"

Yaito giggled and the others sighed in defeat at her random jokes…


	22. Chapter 21: Grave Man

**Chapter 21: Grave Man**

07:32 AM (Japan Time), Saturday January the 12th…

"… Huff. No big deal in the press save for those freak Navis… Man. I want to have some thrill."

A man was sitting in a chair placed next to table inside of an apartment somewhere.

He was on his late forties or early fifties.

His hair was already gray and his brown eyes' irises displayed a cold behavior to begin with.

He had a thick gray beard across his face, too.

He wore a black suit and pants along with rain boots.

He was currently smoking a Cuban cigar and reading the daily newspapers with a bored look.

"True, Mr. Tombstone."

"Ain't it, Grave Man?"

A Link PET colored black was set on a nearby desk: its emblem was a grey headstone without any features on its body.

The Navi which was projecting with hologram was colored black and his eyes' irises were also cold brown.

His forearms and boots were gray with several patches of white scattered around their surface.

The Navi carried a shovel on his back.

The Link PET rang so the man shrugged and grabbed it.

"Hello?" The man asked.

"I'm looking for a North Korean." A voice announced.

"You mean you've got a job for me." The man replied.

"Correct, Mr. Bill Tombstone." The caller confirmed.

"Get to the point or I'll cut you off." He warned.

"Very well. I want you to bury a Navi. It'd be preferable if he was still alive, though. I'd like to drive him mad." The man exposed.

"Hum! What about money?" He asked.

"I can send you right now a prepayment of 7,500 Credits."

Tombstone spat the cigar from the surprise and his Navi also looked surprised by the announcement.

"7,500 CREDITS!" He yelled.

"If you give me a bank account number then I could send it to you right now." The caller calmly replied.

"Take note: 014456789!"

"O. K. The prepayment should be in there. Can you check it out?" The caller requested.

"I'm on it! Grave Man! Have a look!"

"Roger, Mr. Tombstone! Eh… It's there, Mr. Tombstone." He reported.

"Great! What kind of Navi do we have to bury alive?" Tombstone asked the caller with a grin.

"A Japanese Navi: I'll send you the data about him in a few minutes. I'd also like of you to set a tombstone with his name, his date of birth and demise and the "R.I.P." initials." The caller detailed.

"Piece of cake!"

"Excellent. I'll send you another 7,500 Credits once the job is over."

"15,000 Credits! BWA, HAH, HAH, HAH! I'll be a _millionaire_!" He laughed.

"Do as you wish! But do the job. I'm Kenneth Onderson."

"Alright, Mr. Onderson! Count on me! Heh, heh, heh!"

08:54 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello? Ice Man? Are you in there?"

Rock Man stepped into a square and the gateway suddenly locked behind him: he gasped and tried to force it open: it wouldn't budge.

"Dekao – kun! If this is a joke, I didn't like it." He grumbled.

No – one replied, so he grumbled and looked around.

"Huh? What's that…?"

He spotted found a rectangular hole which had been dug into the ground about three meters ahead: there was a black pinewood box inside of the hole which was open: a bulk covered by a blanket near the north end of the hole could be seen.

"What the… What's with the scenery?" He muttered.

He tugged the blanket off and almost had a heart attack: a _tombstone _had been erected there.

R.I.P

Rock Man EXE

June the 9th, 1993 – January the 12th, 2008

"A-a-a… T-t-tomb!" He uttered while recoiling from the shock and looked horrified.

"Yeah! Yer grave!"

Grave Man appeared by jumping into the square from a higher level and looked amused.

"Is this your idea of a joke, whoever you are?" Rock Man demanded: he drew the Rock Buster.

"No! This isn't a joke! It's your grave! I'm Grave Man! And nobody has survived me before! I'm known as the "Gravedigger's Wind"! Mwah, hah, hah!" Grave Man proclaimed.

"What? Are you a mercenary?" He guessed.

"You guessed? Yeah! I was hired to bury you _alive_." Grave Man laughed in a psychotic tone.

"I won't let you!" Rock Man proclaimed: he began to charge the Rock Buster.

"Oh? What about this? You know what lurks in graveyards?" Grave Man taunted.

"What lurks in…? NO! Not those!" He turned white and forgot to continue charging the Rock Buster.

"Come: dead spirits of the Afterworld!" Grave Man summoned in a sinister tone of voice.

The lights dimmed and a series of _ghosts_ (dressed with a white cloth, having a hood with eyes and mouth cut into it and a tail) appeared into the scene: they howled.

"E~h! Ghosts! Disappear!"

Rock Man shot his Rock Buster at random, but, suddenly, Grave Man hit him with his shovel and he lost his balance.

"No~!" He yelled in despair.

Rock Man he fell into the pinewood box, which closed and displayed the golden cross set into the lid: a stone slab covered the hole.

"Done." Grave Man laughed.

The doorway was suddenly blown up in a brutal explosion and three silhouettes rushed into the square.

"What the…?" He uttered.

"Dimensional Trap: Engage!" Someone commanded.

The Dimensional Trap (similar to a Dimensional Area but colored purple) formed around the whole square: Omega, Sigma and Blood Shadow stepped forward while looking angered.

"Who the…! You lowlifes weren't part of the plan!" He uttered.

"Sigma: break that idiotic grave and take Rock Man outta there! Blood: dispose of those cheap ghosts! I'll deal with this mad guy." Omega ordered: his eyes were shining red with rage.

Sigma jumped towards the grave and he kicked the tombstone which broke upon hitting the floor: he then left his sword on the ground and pulled the slab.

"HRA~H!"

He ripped it from the ground and threw it towards one of the ghosts, deleting it.

"Eat that!"

He then used his punches to break the pinewood box open: Saito was inside of it: he was trembling in fear and was as pale as death: he was covering his eyes with his fingers and obviously crying out of fear and shock.

"GRA~H!" Grave Man roared.

After having been _slaughtered_ by Omega, the only thing left was some useless bits of data.

"Blood! Did you dispose of his accomplices?" Omega questioned.

"Roger that!" Blood Shadow replied as he walked towards him.

"Dimensional Trap: Release!"

Sigma helped Saito stood up: he was crying and trembling in fear and he looked like he was suffering PSTD.

"Hikari! Speak with Rock Man and please try to calm him down somehow!

"Roger! Come on, niisan! Plug Out!" Netto gasped.

"You two: make sure no trace remains of this. Fill it up with boulders for the time being and then call the local admin and tell him to restore the terrain to its original shape using the backup data. Damned Twilight!"

09:08 AM (Japan Time)…

"… WHAT? Grave Man was - _deleted_? That's impossible!"

BLAM!

Tombstone's apartment door was forced open and various men armed with lots of guns came in: he quickly lifted his hands and spat the cigar outta his mouth from the surprise.

"Bill Tombstone! You are under arrest! Interpol!" One of the men announced.

"Interpol! They found me!" He uttered.

A man walked in: he looked on his fifties and had brown hair along with moustache while his eyes' irises were green.

He wore a brown raincoat and business attire underneath it.

He took out a wallet to display his ID.

"Inspector Alfredo Brown! Bill Tombstone! You are under arrest for six Navi murders and one attempted murder! Take him away!"

The men drove the handcuffed Tombstone out of the apartment while Inspector Brown took out his cell phone.

"We got him, Count de Rivalou." He announced.

"Fantastic! He deserved it. Would you allow such a madman to run free when he was trying to drive to insanity a teenager Navi?" Le Count congratulated only to then began to grumble in total annoyance.

"No! We're going to snoop around his phone to find out who hired him."

"Excellent, _Messier_ Brown. _Au revoir_."

"_Au revoir_, _messier_ Le Count."

Inspector Brown pocketed the cell phone before exiting the stormed apartment.

_The Interpol will punish the culprits for this!_

09:17 AM (Japan Time)

"… Ghosts! A grave! I couldn't endure it! You know how much I fear ghosts, Netto - kun!"

Saito was hugging Netto and sobbing nonstop: Netto was patting his back and trying to calm him down somehow.

"Try to forget it, niisan…" Netto improvised.

"Forget it? It's not that easy, Netto - kun! Can you imagine what it is to be trapped inside of grave? No! I thought I'd _die_ from madness in there!" He yelled and sobbed even more.

"… Niisan… We'll have our payback on Twilight, but… We can't do it out of revenge: we're Net Saviors. Remember?" Netto told him.

"… Yeah… Net Saviors… But… What good can I bring? I need someone to help me the whole time, I'm 14 years old and I'm still scared of ghosts! I'm so useless!" Saito groaned.

"Wrong! Don't try to take the blame yourself. You're how you are, Saito – niisan. But… We must stay united! We must fight the enemy back with all we have!" Netto replied.

"… But…" Saito trailed off.

"I'm sure we can repress that memory somehow… But… Will you stay by my side?"

"… Yeah. I will. I'll always support you." Saito sighed.

"Pretend it was a bad dream." Netto ventured.

"… Yeah. It's easier to forget if I pretend it always was a bad dream to begin with…"

"Maybe you need some _curry_ to snap outta it?" Netto suggested.

"Yeah. Let's hope Hinoken won't burn it up out of frustration." Saito began to form a smile.

"That's my Saito – niisan." Netto grinned.

09:28 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Sidier. I didn't like that. At all."

"Ah… Is that so?"

Sidier was reporting to Emperor S: the guy sounded angry, for once, and Sidier looked like he was expecting some form of punishment.

"Of course! Aren't we warriors? Don't we test the strength of one through battle? What need is there to use such tricks? Hmmm?" Emperor S stood up and looked towards him.

"Ah… Eh… My Lord. I thought that… All's fair in war, so…" Sidier bowed and sounded afraid.

"_Clichés_ aren't textbooks to be looked up!" Emperor S roared.

"… Please punish me so that I'll learn from my mistakes, my Lord." He gulped.

"… Maybe we'll have to close the experiment sooner than we thought. Go back but don't do _anything_. Gotcha?" Emperor S fumed.

"R-roger, my Lord…!"

Sidier bowed in a deep manner and Emperor S made a gesture with his right hand as if to signal for him to leave: he hurriedly stood up, saluted, and walked over to the gateway.

"I… shall be going back, Emperor S – sama." He announced.

"Remember. No _clichés_. Read a Bond novel or _Star Wars_ stuff if you want to but nothing about mining the adversary's morale. I think we'll head over there to inspect everything so let out the truth: you are not the true leader. Get it?" Emperor S commanded.

"… I understand. By your orders, sir… Goodbye, sir…"

"Remember my words!" Emperor S emphasized.

Sidier nervously nodded and bowed before jumping into the gateway: Emperor S walked down to ground level and fumed.

"Sidier… I should've told him that there are limits to how far you can go with such stuff! I don't plan on acting like that crazy Ice Queen: destroying people's mindsets for her own profit!" He grumbled.

"I don't, either, S."

"None of us three would."

H and B walked in: they sounded serious today.

"This is it. It's gone out of bonds. We need to start wrapping up before those guys lose their patience and try to go all out." Emperor S sounded nervous.

"And we'll go back to the "business" we left behind, then?" H asked.

"Obviously! I've seen enough. We'll let the expendable Darkloids and Duplicates go out and fight them. I want to finish building up a battle abilities database for future reference: it could be beneficial to the Tribes." Emperor S explained.

"Sounds fair enough… But… Are we gonna end up revealing ourselves to them?" B asked.

"Yeah. We'll do that. And I think I have an idea of how to do that. I'll work it out for the remainder of today." Emperor S admitted.

"We'll have to tell our tale one day, but… I don't like bringing up the Cursed 5 Years but there's no other way around…" H sighed.

"No. There's no other way around." B sighed as well.

"History will be the one which will judge us in the end, but… It won't be able to really blame us. Anyone else would've done the same thing in such circumstances…" Emperor S muttered.

"Yeah… True." Both B and H muttered.

"It's settled. They will know the truth." Emperor S settled with a sigh.

"Our origins…" The other two grimly muttered.

"Yeah, I know…"

"This gloomy mood doesn't fit." H told them.

"Oh yeah? What do you suggest?" B asked.

"To have all Sentinels join 343 Guilty Spark into the "Guilty 343 Spark Sentinels Dance Across Installation 04 B"…"

"Oh come on! That's impossibly long!"

"Who'd want to use that long of a title?" B groaned.

"Cha cloak…?" She suggested with a giggle.

"What? My cloak…? Oh come on! It's not like it's alive!"

"It is alive 'cause I told Sirius Gray to cast a spell on in."

"Now it's "Sirius Gray"…?" Emperor S sighed and slapped his forehead.

"Sure! Sirius Green Red Blue!"

"JEEZ!"

"Jeez a jazz." She made up a silly pun on the spot.

"Don't you EVER run out of ideas?" B asked with obvious annoyance.

"Nope, Bond's Apprentice With a Fake Gun!"

B groaned and slapped his forehead too: H giggled.

"Well! I'm off to chatting with the girls Ophiucus Queen and Dia Iceburn, ya see. Beware of Sirius Gold Silver Crystal!"

She ran off and both guys sighed again.

"By the way! Do you really believe "KO" is named like that and has those looks or you made them out of pure randomness, S?"

"Huh? Yeah. I dunno. I tried to find them but they seemingly meet somewhere where there weren't any Cyber Worlds close by."

"Oh heck. Too bad we won't be able to help them in the end…"

"I know… Damned Twilight. Do us a favor and show your hide!"


	23. Chapter 22: Unmasked

**Chapter 22: Unmasked**

08:44 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…

"… So. Who bothered to call me all the way to the Kobe Prefecture Main Router?"

"Me. Showdown!"

"Duplicate Zero… Fine. Showdown!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Taste my steel."

Blood Shadow was facing against Duplicate Zero inside of a router device's main nexus: several gateways, some open and other closed could be seen set at the start of paths which were identified by their interface name colored red and printed on the ground.

"Then… I knew it." Blood Shadow muttered.

"What?" D Zero sounded surprised.

"That it was a trap."

"Ah. Wasn't that obvious?" D Zero replied.

Blood Shadow seemed to be looking past the guy but quickly focused his sight on his sword.

"That's a dangerous toy ya have there… Why don't ya use it to open buffalo meat tins?"

"Hmpf! Gloat while you can. Get ready!" D Zero shot back.

"Sword Fighter X!"

Blood Shadow drew a red and slightly curved sword with dents on it: he then jumped forward and used the sword on his left forearm to counter D Zero: they struggled in the deadlock but Blood Shadow suddenly kicked his right shoulder with his right foot and pushed him back: D Zero quickly closed the window by holding his sword in front of his chest and aiming NW: Blood Shadow grinned and clashed with him again while struggling in the deadlock: he didn't even sweat while D Zero was having trouble.

"Damn." He cursed.

"That's some strong Texas dialect over there." Blood Shadow joked.

"What the… You're weird." D Zero cursed.

"Nope. I have humor. But I guess Humor Man winds in the end." Blood Shadow joked next.

"Then I guess Potato Man winds in the end!" D Zero sarcastically shot back with a hint of annoyance.

"Mexico Man invites you over for a _samba_." Blood Shadow giggled.

"Very funny!" D Zero growled.

"You have a stain in your tuxedo." Blood Shadow told him.

D Zero looked at his bodysuit but Blood Shadow used the window to kick his left knee and then hit his stomach area with the right foot: D Zero growled and stepped back as Blood Shadow jumped into the air and dived towards him: he barely blocked in time as Blood Shadow landed and was being pushed back while Blood Shadow wasn't even making effort.

"After all… A copy can't hope to imitate one's level of expertise! Hammer a hammer!" Blood Shadow told him.

"Shit. And I thought Omega was deadlier…" He grumbled.

"Commander Omega _is_ deadlier: I just happen to train a lot! The original Zero has been training with Commander Omega from time to time. But you already knew that!"

"Grfjtx! Cut a cut!" D Zero shot back.

"Fly a flight." Blood Shadow improvised.

"Go see Revolution Man!" D Zero growled.

"Vincent will go see 'im: he did a nice job but it was too obvious if you stopped to think about it. As Holmes put it: "Elemental, my dear Watson. Yet, it wasn't so elemental at a second glance."…'" Blood Shadow whistled the _Super Mario Bros._ tune as he spoke.

"What the… You're mixing _Mario_ and Sherlock Holmes? You're really outta your mind, aren't you?" D Zero cursed.

"Tell that to the Four Heavenly Kings." Blood Shadow shrugged.

"Scissor a scissor!" D Zero exclaimed.

"Clock a clock."

"Call the caller."

"Mail the mailer."

"What the… Is this a motto war?" D Zero cursed.

"Yeah. Blood Shadow's Motto War: sponsored by Shadow Man." He confirmed with a giggle.

"Shadow Man…! I'd never guessed the guy liked this stuff." D Zero muttered.

"He likes slicing and dicing _Sengoku_ mottos. "I shall cut thou neck" is a good example." Blood replied.

"_Okubi choudai_… And that's what you're gonna do to me?" D Zero muttered.

"No. There's no need for that. I have enough with making you feel like you tried to fight Goliath." Blood Shadow's grin widened.

"Go battle Perseus, then! Or, better yet, go battle Zeus!" D Zero challenged with some sarcasm.

"This is becoming boring. Let's make it exciting." Blood Shadow teased.

He suddenly placed the shotgun's barrels on the stomach area and shot an already charged up blast: the explosion sent D Zero flying across the air and he landed, hard, in the ground, two meters away. He had an ugly wound which was leaking data while Blood Shadow grinned.

"Groah… Gruh! Damn it! I can't fight anymore…! I feel like Goliath has beaten me a thousand times over…! I'll be returning… Have at you, Blood Shadow! Battle Chip, Blind!"

_Chance!_

Saito followed D Zero into the portal and suddenly got inside of a purple tunnel surrounded by utter blackness: he looked backwards and spotted a patch of light behind him which was being left behind.

_What?_

He suddenly felt how all the data pieces on his body were disassembled and shot forward into the depths of the obscurity.

_Whoa~!_

He landed somewhere and panted heavily, still using his stealth camouflage.

_Huh! I made it through?_

He stood up, since he had been on his fours, and looked around: he was standing inside of a dome made of blue transparent light: the vortex, which had assumed a circle shape with swirling white energy patterns inside of its blue body, was placed behind him.

_I did it: I found their "Dark World"!_

The area outside of the dome was filled with a purplish fog which seemed to be originated by the atmosphere: the room was round-shaped, made of concrete, and unfurnished: he spotted a large garage shutter five meters behind him and a small metallic door two meters in front of him: a small podium had been built in front of it.

_And the name wasn't a joke._ Netto told him.

_Yeah… How's the tracer like?_

_No dice! I can't pick its signal up. It looks like this place's conditions made it unable to work._

_Let me try something, Netto – kun._

_Be careful!_

_Yeah! Don't worry._

Saito, still invisible, walked to the edge of the dome, and put his hand out of it: the very air corroded his hand and part of his Health Points started to decrease.

_Crap!_

He quickly removed the hand and put it back inside of the dome: his HP rose back to the top after a few seconds of standing idle.

_Crap! 5 HP per second… And that's 300 HP per minute! My max HP clocks at 1200: I'd be dead in four minutes of total exposure! This dome recharges me at a 1HP per second rate…_ He reported.

_Yikes! Then please don't step outta there._

_I don't plan to! _

"… Heh, heh, heh. The _reinforcements_ have arrived!"

"Is that so?"

Saito tensed upon hearing two pairs of footsteps walking closer: he stepped back and looked around: there was nothing which could serve as cover.

"But… Only Zero DS came back to the HQ, sir… Blood Shadow stayed there, sir…" A voice argued.

"Heh, heh, heh. I can't be mistaken: my little vermillion bird told me 'bout it." Another voice replied.

_Why do they call Zero's copy "DS"? Isn't he Duplicate Zero?_ Saito frowned.

_I'm afraid they know we're there._ Netto warned.

The door opened and both Sidier and Emperor S stepped in: the second walked next to the limit of the dome and stood there while Sidier stopped at a respectful distance behind his right shoulder.

_That guy with the red mantle… His form… He looks like a rip-off taken out our Cross Fusion form with some little tweaks to it and being about… 5cm taller._ Saito reported.

_Then… The cloaked guy is Freeze Man? No. Wait. He's not that short in height! So who is it? The other Darkloids are tall guys too._

"Hiya, Saito. Welcome to our HQ. There's no need for that stealth camouflage anymore: I know you're there. The data traffic sensor told me 'bout it." Emperor S told him.

"What?" Sidier gasped.

Saito disengaged his camouflage and directed a hostile glare at Emperor S while Sidier formed an eager expression.

"Twilight? You tried to change your body shape?"

"Wrong. Call me Emperor S if you may." He corrected.

"What?" Saito frowned.

"Twilight is in unknown whereabouts and "Neo Gospel" has just been sitting back and watching this show. I'm the one who started this up."

"W-what?" He gasped.

_Whoa!_

"The ploy with Vincent was to further the impression: I wanted to leave an image of "KO" engraved into you guys. Even if you knew it was a fake, you'd unmistakably think he was toying with you guys." He explained.

"Where did you come out from, then?" Saito questioned.

"Long tale… I'll tell you guys one day. Ah. But I guess I should be showing you the glory of my _Battle Form_." He replied.

"Battle Form…?" Saito gasped.

"Yeah. I have a normal form and my Battle Form. I'm going to show it to you for the sake of the series' big reveal." He sounded amused.

He grabbed the neck part of his tunic and quickly tossed it away towards the right.

"Witness!"

Emperor S' form was revealed: purple was the dominant color.

The helmet had a black central stripe with a bronze-colored hexagon set there and a small "V" piece slightly beneath that: the sides of it were colored purple and had two small square holes near the ear-pads which were colored blood red and had a bronze edge: two triangles emerged from the SW and NE positions but the second was larger.

Reddish transparent shades covered his eyes and allowed one to see his golden and red irises-eyes below them: most of his face was exposed but the SW triangle provided slight protection for the sides: his silver hair flew out from behind while forming a crest.

His chest had a small square plate with a curved lower end which had that shooting star emblem set there: apart from that the rest of the chest lacked any important armor.

The shoulder plates were divided into six stripes: three per each shoulder's half with the two central ones being colored silver and the outer ones purple: a black stripe crossing through the central stripes contained a glowing bronze energy pattern there.

The forearms had two curved extensions coming out from the under-side and began as a thick circle which then gave way to a thinner cylinder and a gray band around the wrist: his hands' skin was black.

Two parallel golden lines travelled down the sides of each body and ended at around the knees where his boots began at.

His boots contained a flap-like extension having a purplish energy pathway cut through them: they began as thick but then lost some thickness and ended in metallic soils: a small piece shaped like a triangle was set over where the feet were at and leaving a small gap which was seemingly used for the air to come in.

Lastly, two slightly curved flaps were attached to behind him: they had an outer bronze edge and an inner purple body.

"Well! My Battle Form's name is… Dark Ryuusei! Heh, heh, heh. How is it, Saito? Is your blood freezing?" He announced.

"Dark Ryuusei…! He looks similar to Blood…!" He gasped.

_W-whoa! _

"Ah. Excuse me. I haven't introduced myself yet. I am, from what you guys name the Land, this world's current Demon Tribe Chief… Sidier. If you don't mind it then you can call me "Lord Sidier" as well…" Sidier made his introduction.

"Sidier…? Si – di – e – r… Wait. Doesn't that sound like…? No way… It's too obvious! "Si" from "Sidious" and "der" from "Vader"! The letters left over from forming the name Vadous!" Saito gasped.

"Bingo!"

"Oi, oi! S! Don't start the party without us!"

"Guess you want to hear another of my lives… And that guy looks like he could hear a thousand before tiring out! Tee, heh, heh!"

B and H stepped into the room: Sidier bowed to them and they walked forward to stop at Dark Ryuusei's sides.

"Who…?" Saito demanded.

"My classmates: B and H – chan. Please go ahead and make your _debuts_ into the series." Dark Ryuusei announced.

"_Ladies_ go first! Hah!" H announced.

She took her cloak off.

Her form, to begin with, had a purple-colored one-piece-bodysuit which extended until the hips and ended in a skirt-like form: two small curved objects were placed over her shoulders and the upper part of her bodysuit (extending from the shoulders until the chest) was colored black: it had no peculiar decoration drawn into its surface.

A black scarf was wrapped on her neck and it extended until the ground.

The helmet's main color was black and it had the same "broken heart" drawing was set on the forehead.

Two purple round button-like objects emerged from the sides of the head plus a purple band which formed the lower edge of the helmet: thick red-colored shades covered her eyes but exposed her nose.

Her reddish hair fell down the sides of her head and stopped slightly over the shoulders.

A red blood heart with a crack on the middle was set on the middle of her chest thus combining the upper half of her body with the bodysuit: two thin purple lines travelled down from the skull's SW and SE edges until the end of the bodysuit.

Her arms were covered by a combination of purple and black bands which extended until the wrists, which were covered by golden armor: it consisted of a thinner piece at the start plus a larger piece below it which had a small button drawn into the north side of it: the hands' skin was tinted using purple coloring.

The space between the end of the bodysuit and the start of the knees had nothing on them but black "skin" covering it.

The boots' armor began at the knees with black armor having purple pyramid-like drawings set over them: the boots had no peculiar decoration whatsoever and they ended in white edges on the very front of them.

"My _beautiful_ Battle Form: Harp Note DS! My nickname, "H", comes from "Harp"!" She announced.

"Whoa!" Saito gasped.

"Yo!"

B tossed his cloak as well.

His form had a helmet which had been painted using a black and red color-scheme: it was a partial guard given how it revealed his hair in its entirety which was flying straight upwards in a wild and chaotic manner.

The helmet too bore a pair of transparent purple shapes and having the shape of the Alphabet letter "X".

The shades seemed to be layered across his helmet while his throat was guarded by a silver neck-guard, somewhat similar to a gorget: his ear-pads were small greenish domes.

He wore a smooth and plain black cat suit which began at his jaw line with his robe's emblem drawn over his chest while now being colored in a crimson red color: the catsuit ran uninterrupted along each limb until reaching the elbows and knees.

Starting from those spots, and, with the exception of his right arm, they were further covered in solid-looking black armor: and this black armor was further alloyed with a red slotted coil with a single red spine forming around the left wrist plus the feet ankles.

He also bore two knobbed spaulders made of what seemingly was the same material over his shoulders to protect them.

His right arm, by comparison, bore a thick black bracelet circling around the wrist: it turned his right fist and forearm into a mass of burning purple flames the brightness of which was constantly shifting.

"My Battle Form: Burai DS! My nickname, "B", comes from "Burai"!" He grinned.

"Who exactly are you guys…?" Saito looked baffled.

"Long story, really… But it all began 16 years ago with Spectrum. The full story can wait. For the time being… We are solo Net Navis. We live in this "Dark World": but this HQ is just a recent addition. The real place we live at is a self-contained world. I've been monitoring the outside world for 11 long years and, after collaborating with Kanou and Kuroshiro in my "world" to find a way to exit it, I decided to organize this experiment."

"Then… The commander of the Duplicates and Darkloids was… That Sidier guy over there…!" Saito gasped.

"Correct, Rock Man! I, by the orders of the great Dark Ryuusei – sama, have been acting like I'd been the mastermind. However… Due to my mistakes, Dark Ryuusei – sama has decided to steer the boat." Sidier confirmed.

"Mistakes…? Then… That of yesterday… Your master didn't order you to do it?" Saito made a grimace.

"No. I am guilty. I tried to imitate _clichés_ and ended up doing something which a warrior of my level should be ashamed of. And I am. I am young and I have very little experience: I picked the wrong references." Sidier admitted.

"As he said… This is like a punishment to him because he's lowered my expectations. I've trained for long and fought several battles. But if there's one thing is despise is someone ruling over others out of greed for power or wanting to impose fear into them. They did what I wanted in exchange for some programs I didn't need." Dark Ryuusei explained.

"Yeah. Si – chan needs a pulling of the ears." Harp Note DS giggled and sounded amused.

"Jeez." Burai DS didn't look amused.

"What is the meaning of "DS", anyway?" Saito questioned.

"Dark Soldier. But so as to not to spoil the surprise, we came up with the name "Duplicate" for the copies. And your suspicions were correct: the Darkloids and DS Navis can only fight to 90% power out there. They only can use 100% here. The same applies to us." Dark Ryuusei explained.

"So… That talk about this being an experiment to test us Net Saviors was true, then?" Saito asked.

"Yeah! And you've done splendidly." Harp Note DS giggled.

"You needed something serious to keep you guys in shape. Those VR simulations aren't bad, but the real thing would really make you sweat and research into your strategies to improve them." Burai DS told him with a smile.

"So… You don't care about us deleting the Darkloids and Duplicates, after all?" Saito asked.

"We'll save up the three powerful ones. But the others are just there to test you guys." Sidier replied.

"For the time being… You can go back, Saito. I'll save a little surprise towards the end." Dark Ryuusei told him.

"A proton torpedo, he means to say." Harp Note DS giggled.

"Be serious!" Burai DS groaned.

"You three… You don't look older than 16… But you sound mature!"

"Starting to catch up? We'll tell you guys the whole tale once you finish the experiment, rest assured of it. I never withdraw my words."

"Fine. We'll beat those enemies and finish this experiment. What are you going to do afterwards?" Saito asked.

"We'll simply disappear and not bother you guys anymore. The rest will be up to the flow of times and Fate." Dark Ryuusei shrugged.

"Ya could put that in a poem, ya know?" Harp Note DS giggled.

"Crap." Burai DS rolled his eyes.

"Catastrophe…" Sidier grimly muttered.

"We'll settle this later, H – chan." Dark Ryuusei drily told her.

"We'll settle it by playing _dejarik_ and betting the _Millennium Falcon_!"

Dark Ryuusei aimed a buster weapon (the grooves of which were shining with white energy) at the inactive gateway: he shot a white beam of light at it and energized it up: he then turned to look at Saito.

"Go."

"Uh… _Sayounara_, I guess…" He muttered.

Harp Note DS then placed her right hand's index finger on Sidier's jaw and he turned deep red while the other two sighed in defeat.

"Tee, heh, heh. Does it feel exciting, Si – chan?"

"I… do not know… ma'am…" He nervously replied.

"Tee, heh, heh. I feel ready to tease you a hundred times!"


	24. Chapter 23: Code A

**Chapter 23: Code A**

10:35 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…

"… Whoa. I swear. I'd never guessed it: they played it out in a perfect way, I admit. I'm baffled."

"We also are, Vadous – san."

"The whole thing has changed."

Netto and Saito were sitting in the chairs inside of the meeting room of the HQ: Vadous looked baffled at the news while the twins looked somewhat nervous.

"Spectrum… 16 years ago… Weird. I mean… Nobody ever got to use Spectrum after its shutdown." Vadous frowned.

"Maybe they did it in another manner altogether? Or they used the resources there…" Saito ventured.

"One thing is clear: there'll be a lot of loose Darkloids and Duplicates wandering around today." Netto warned.

"Well… Sigma and Blood are mobilized, and, once we warn the others, it shouldn't be much trouble…" Vadous muttered.

"And if that _Sidier_ guy claimed he was "young" then he hasn't been around for very long, I'd say… And something tells me that his resemblance to our Cross Fusion form is _no_ coincidence." Saito admitted.

"Yeah. It looks way too similar. No. I guess he's intended to be our newest "Dark" enemy. It'd seem he prefers using niisan's Navi name instead of his real name: that's curious." Netto frowned.

"Maybe he doesn't have such a "close" concept of us and may have not even realized the similarities yet. He may just think we're his rivals, for all we know." Saito ventured.

"Yeah. That sounds likely. But I could tell at one glance: those guys weren't any joke to begin with. They could be overwhelmingly powerful for all we know! We can't lower the guard."

"Warning. Warning. Code A. Code A. All personnel to combat stations: report to the command bridge. Warning. Maze Program has been activated." The automated voice warned.

"What the…? Already…?" Netto cursed.

"Let's go!" Saito rallied.

"Omega! Where are ya?" Vadous called out through the radio.

There was no reply so Vadous frowned.

"Crap. He's undergoing maintenance! Sorry. But I'll need you two to deal with this." Vadous recalled.

"What does the "A" letter in "Code A" mean?"

"Attack: _kougeki_." Vadous replied.

"Where do we Plug – In from…?" Saito asked.

"Hmmm… The command console will do fine. It has an exit into the main hub." Vadous decided.

They ran off and headed over to the command bridge: Vadous signaled for Saito to sit on the armchair: he did so and nodded in understanding.

"Let's go!"

Netto readied the PET and the IR laser came out of Saito's right eye: it then entered the PET where Rock Man appeared onscreen and Saito's eyes closed while his breathing slowly reduced.

"Wait a min. I want to know what we're dealing with." Vadous told them as he typed into the keyboard.

A live feed of Darkloid Plant Man trying to find his way around the maze was displayed over the screen.

"Plant Man…! That guy was the reason Fire Man was restored from Heat Man's frame…! But we still have the Fire Soul and tons of Flame Attribute Battle Chips, so… He should be no big deal!" Netto exclaimed without too much surprise.

"Yeah. Let's show him that it's rude to enter people's domains without knocking at the door." Rock Man grinned.

"Go!" Vadous rallied.

"Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

Rock Man entered the console's Cyber World and ignored the folders and icons floating around: he ran ahead through a tunnel and ended up in a large wide square plaza: more gateways could be seen scattered around a large 3D hologram of the spinning Earth was set on the midst of it: a small red dot periodically orbited around it.

"Go through the SSW gate." Vadous instructed.

"Roger, sir." He confirmed.

He ran through it and soon ended up in the maze's entrance: the gateway closed behind him for safety purposes while the maze's walls descended into the ground thus revealing Plant Man.

"Rock Man…!" He gasped.

"Plant Man. You picked the wrong place to attack at. Did _Mazokuchou_ – sama order you to come here?" Rock Man questioned.

"No. I thought this was the Net Police HQ." Plant Man admitted.

"Ah. But that doesn't excuse that you're intruding and that you caused a chaos three years ago." Rock Man calmly replied: he drew the Rock Buster and aimed it.

"Che. I'm different from back then. No – one will help you." Plant Man tried to sound confident.

"I don't need to: I'm different from back then, too. It's been three years and I haven't been sitting idle." He shot back.

"Plant Weed!"

Some weeds formed around the area but Rock Man was already jumping across the air: Plant Man gasped.

"What?"

"Rock Buster!"

He began bombarding Plant Man with small and quick Rock Buster shots in random spots thus overwhelming his sensors.

"Battle Chip, Hell's Burner! Slot In!"

"Hell's Burner!"

"Huh! Leaf Barrier!"

He came up with the Leaf Barrier but Rock Man had continued his jump across the air and had by now landed behind Plant Man: he shot the doll of flames at him and he roared.

"A-Aqua Tower!"

The Aqua Tower put the flames out and caused for white steam to spread around the area: Plant Man hissed and looked around.

"Where…? Come out, Rock Man!" He cursed.

"Soul Unison: Fire Soul! Slot In!"

"Double Fire Arm!"

"Ice Cannon…!"

Plant Man didn't get to finish as both attacks hit him and inflicted even further damage: he dropped to his knees and howled.

"Impossible…! I had the guy at my mercy back then…!" He cursed.

"What part of "I'm different" you don't get?" Rock Man dully questioned while being seemingly unimpressed.

"Rose Needle!"

The Rose Needles hit him but a _chibi_ doll appeared on his spot and four _shuriken_ got stuck on Plant Man's back: he roared and collapsed.

"D-damn… I've lost 86% of my HP…!" He cursed.

"You're still a menace to the Network Society, so… I'm going to defeat you as a Net Savior and not out of grudge." Rock Man announced.

"You lowlife~!"

Plant Man suddenly stood up and summoned his weeds which managed to tie around Rock Man's body: he looked unimpressed nevertheless.

"Battle Chip, Salamander! Slot In!"

"No…!" Plant Man gasped in horror.

"_The End_."

Rock Man shot skywards and then plunged into the ground: the sudden overpowered blast of fire was more than what Plant Man could handle and his bomb program was detonated: a crater formed and the shockwave pushed Rock Man back: he gracefully landed on the ground and sighed in relief.

"Phew. This is really a _hot_ battle. I guess Hinoken must be cursing he didn't get to defeat him alone this time around." Rock Man looked rather amused.

"Intruder deletion: confirmed. No further abnormalities have been detected in the mainframe. Over." Black Ace reported.

"_Good job_, niisan! Plug Out!"

He cancelled the Fire Soul and returned inside of the Link PET: Netto connected him back on the body and he looked around.

"Wow. It gives one a… feeling of control… I mean… Sitting here and looking at all those buttons and such…" He whistled in surprise.

"Why do you guys think I spend so much time there?" Vadous made a smile.

"Heh, heh, heh! Niisan would be a better VP than Enzan: he can spot the scale of power just by sitting on a chair!" Netto joked to Saito.

"Jeez." Saito rolled his eyes.

One red button labeled "EMERGENCY LINE" began to flash.

"May I…?" Saito asked.

"Sure. That's the main phone." Vadous invited.

"Roger, sir."

Saito pressed it and Enzan appeared onscreen.

"Mr. Vadous… Saito? What the heck are you doing in Mr. Vadous' armchair?" Enzan looked baffled.

"I'm just teasing them." Vadous told him as he leant forward: he had a wide grin on his face.

"Ah… I see." He looked surprised.

"Code A?" Saito guessed.

"Code A?" Enzan asked.

"Code Attack!" Netto told him.

"Oh! Yeah. Drill Man! Remember: he showed up on a company I was trying to make business with not too long after the N1 Grand Prix!" Enzan reported.

"Oh. I remember that, yeah… And he showed up in IPC?" Netto asked.

"Yeah. We're dealing with the guy." Enzan confirmed.

"… Sonic Boom!"

"Triple Hole!"

"Guah!"

"Blues! Be careful!" Enzan warned.

"Roger, Enzan – sama…" Blues growled in the background.

"Hah. Weak!" Drill Man boasted.

"Shut up. Battle Chip, Long Blade! Slot In!"

"Take this!" Blues announced.

There was the sound of the Long Blade plunging into Drill Man's body and he growled: the sound repeated again and Drill Man roared as he seemingly tried to shake Blues off him.

"You bothersome mouse! Stay still! I'll delete you!"

"Slow." Blues shot back.

"Program Advance! Elec, Fire, Aqua, Bamboo Sword! Slot In!"

"Elemental Sword!"

"Gua~h!"

There was a sound which seemed to indicate Drill Man had collapsed into the ground and was heavily damaged.

"Impossible… 58% of my HP has gone down…! You lowlife~! I'll crush you~!" Drill Man roared.

"Boast while you can." Blues drily shot back.

"Tunnel Crusher!"

There was the sound of _shuriken_ getting stuck on Drill Man's body followed by two cuts made by Blues.

"S-shit…! HP down by 79%...!"

"Is that all?" Blues taunted.

"If only I didn't have this 90% cap…! I'd be able to destroy you lowlife in one blow!" He cursed aloud.

"Curse your master, then." Enzan taunted him.

"Grrr…! Shaddup…! The great I will… pulverize you lowlifes…! Tunnel Crusher! Die~!" Drill Man hissed.

"Battle Chip, Count Bomb! Slot In!"

"Damn you~!"

There was an explosion which had obviously been caused by Drill Man hitting the Count Bomb: he roared but Blues gave him no break as he attacked him again.

"Ugh… HP down by 96%...! I'm losing 3HP per second…! No…! I'm invincible…! I can only resist… 25 seconds…! Enough…! To crush you lowlife! Triple Hole~!" Drill Man groaned.

"Useless." Blues shot back.

The sound of two blades plunging through Drill Man's body and the familiar sound of the bomb program being triggered was heard through the open line.

"GROA~H!"

The explosion swept the area and then there was silence: Blues sighed in relief.

"Phew. We beat the guy." He muttered.

"What a morning! First I get told four weird guys are the true culprits behind this mess and now I get this guy here…" Enzan groaned.

"Maybe the burgers are to blame." Vadous sarcastically suggested.

"Eh…? Is that so…?" Enzan looked puzzled.

"Niisan… Can I switch with you? Please?" Netto looked eager.

"Eh… Vadous – san…?" Saito asked

"Go ahead. You're VIP visitors, after all!" Vadous invited.

Saito stood up while Netto quickly sat down: Enzan looked surprised at the act.

"Yo! Vice President – sama. Do we sign a deal?" Netto joked.

"Very funny." Enzan drily replied.

"It's an intriguing angle." Blues joked.

"True." Vadous confirmed.

"Well then… I've got job, so… Later, gentlemen." Enzan cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure.

"Beware of those burgers, Enzan – kun. Lartes will climb up the walls if not!" Vadous blinked him an eye.

"Yes, sir… As you advice, sir… Good morning, sir…" Enzan sighed.

Blues directed a smile to Saito before the channel closed down.

"I guess Laika will be next!" Netto guessed.

The red button flashed again and Netto pressed it: Charles showed up onscreen.

"Oh. Charles. I thought Laika would call." Netto admitted.

"Vadous is teasing you two?" He lifted the right eyebrow.

"Guess I am. So? Whose turn is it now?" Vadous shrugged.

"Burner Man! He's setting everything on flames: but our fire safety systems are working fine to contain it within the Cyber World." Charles reported.

"_Moero_, _moero_~!" Burner Man yelled in the background.

"This guy is way too hyperactive!" Davis grumbled.

"Yeah. He never had enough! He made the gym pool's boil, he piloted a toy plane, he made old gas deposits slide downhill and stole that rare metal before Blood and the others beat him." Netto groaned.

"Well… The good part was that we got the Guts Soul." Saito shrugged and looked calm.

"Hah, hah, hah…! No one stops me~! Burning Jet!" Burner Man laughed in the background.

"A red traffic light will stop you." Davis sarcastically replied.

"Hmpf. Gloat while ya can!" Burner Man challenged.

"O. K.! Battle Chip, Justice Bomb! Slot In!"

"Justice Bomb…? Oh. Those golden-colored Custom Battle Chips…" Saito recalled.

"They're cool!" Netto grinned.

"I guess Higure – san will sell all of his Rare Chips to have those in exchange… Heh, heh, heh." Vadous chuckled.

"Sure!" Both grinned.

"… Why, you…! Burning Sword!" Burner Man cursed.

"Battle Chip, Sacred Shield! Slot In!"

"Heh, heh!"

"Shit."

"Battle Chip, Bubble Side! Slot In!"

"Eat this!"

"Gra~h! Damn! HP down by 41%... But I can still fight! Burning Jet! The final blow!" He roared.

"I wonder 'bout that…" Davis trailed off.

"What? Huh? T-that's…! _Kawarimi_!" Burner Man gasped.

"Ta – dan!"

"Ugah! You lowlife!"

"So? Are you gonna blame your _Danna_ for capping your power down, grunt?" Davis taunted.

"…"Grunt"! Me! Die!" Burner Man was obviously in a fit of rage by now.

"Battle Chip, Geyser! Slot In!"

"No!"

"Yeah!" Davis countered.

"Mr. Monolith says you're fired 'long with Jupiter – sama~!"

"Heh, heh, heh! Burner Man picked the wrong guy to mess with." Netto looked amused as he tapped the armrests.

"Aunt Regula is blaming him for burning her kitchen." Vadous joked.

"That's a curious name…" Saito looked amused.

"Vadous always comes up with good jokes. But please don't make any related to… eh… to _Star Wars_ to him. It's one of the things he can't really stand… Can't blame him, though…" Charles warned in a hushed tone and looking slightly nervous.

"Don't worry, Charles. It's not like I'll destroy everything just because I get offended." Vadous told him.

"… Damn. HP down by 65%...! Burning Sword!"

"Battle Chip, Curse Shield! Slot In!"

"How does it feel to taste your own flames?" Davis taunted.

"I've lost 72% of my HP by now…! Need to cut it down…! Burning Jet! This time it's really the end!" Burner Man exclaimed.

"Wrong! Battle Chip, Aqua Sword! Slot In!"

"Unless Burner Man cools down, he'll never be able to win a battle. Things have changed ever since 3 years ago. The one Oriol had rebuilt seemed to be more cool-headed than this one." Saito shrugged.

"T-this JERK! 86% lost…! I don't care! I'll take you down with me if I need to! Delete~! Take this!" Burner Man sounded unleashed by now.

"Battle Chip, Justice Sword! Double Slot In!"

"Hra~h!"

"Hoa~h!"

"That's starting to sound like back when I battled Fire Man in the N1 Gran Prix…" Saito muttered.

"Yeah. It does."

"… Game Over!" Davis announced.

"Y-you lowlife…! Plunged… through me…! 98% lost…! 4 HP per second loss…! Less than 4 seconds… Groa~h!" Burner Man roared.

He evidently blew up and Davis sighed in relief as he returned to the PET and projected out of it.

"I guess the curse of Frederick the Great is having effects on me… Why else would a Flame – Attribute Darkloid show up here of all possible places, anyway?" Charles muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Frederick the Great…? Oh. Captain Fred Sommerston, you mean to say, Charles?" Vadous grinned.

"Yeah. Anyway… This is just a small demo. More of them will show up as the day progresses." Charles sighed.

"Maybe you need a Bloody Mary to mourn the death of the archive drawers?" Davis joked.

"Very original." Charles drily told him.

"College of Charleston welcomes originality." Davis joked next.

"And asymmetry as well, I'd say." Omega joked as he walked in.

"Oh. The maintenance ended?" Vadous asked.

"Yeah. 5 minutes ago. I heard some ruckus. Good job roasting Plant Man a la BBQ." Omega told the twins.

"Yeah! Hinoken will claim we're his rivals on the field!"

"Instead, Hammer Man will show up and tell 'im the show's over and that he's gonna go make a fire party in Alaska." Omega laughed.

"By the way, Dave… Isn't Hal missing ya? He must be busy trying to teach the Monolith what does "laziness" mean!" Charles grinned at him.

"Come on… The Monolith is automatic! It can't "learn" stuff!"

The group laughed in a cherry manner…


	25. Chapter 24: Prelude to a showdown

**Chapter 24: Prelude to a showdown**

11:49 AM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…

"… Heh, heh, heh… Let's see… Oh? We have company?"

"… You lowlife!"

"My. The Flashy Idiot."

"How dare you!"

"So! Ya wanted to repeat that of 3 years ago by messing with the DNN TV Station's antennas?"

"Hmpf."

Sigma had stumbled upon Flash Man inside of one Cyber World: Flash Man looked angered while Sigma looked amused.

"Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Hah, hah, ha~h!" He exclaimed in a rush.

The Neon Lights traveled towards Sigma but he simply stood still: they bounced off what looked like an umbrella-shaped energy shield colored like a rainbow: Flash Man gasped as the Neon Lights hit him instead and he roared in pain.

"Damn. 20% by my own attacks…! Flash Light!"

Two light bulbs with a column formed and shot out electricity towards Sigma: he merely used his free hand to absorb it and then shot it back at Flash Man.

"Grah! You reverse the polarity…! I've lost 30%...! Neon Light!" He growled aloud.

He tried shooting another Neon Light at Sigma but he used his sword to bounce it off: his eyes suddenly shone and two red lasers swept the ground around Flash Man thus drawing a circle: that area was bathed in flames and Flash Man roared.

"Uo~h!"

"Heh."

"You lowlife~!" Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light! Neon Light!" He roared.

"Cheap!" Sigma laughed.

He warped and dropped down from above while holding his sword parallel to the ground: the hit sent Flash Man flying and crashing against a wall: he cursed and faced Sigma again.

"Damn! One attack makes me lose 25% of my HP…!" He cursed.

"Wanna brawl?" Sigma taunted.

"Che. Neon Light!"

Sigma calmly grabbed it with his left hand and quickly closed it around Flash Man's head: he roared as he was electrocuted by the obviouslty amplified voltage and dropped into his knees.

"Another 20% lost…! 75% lost…! But I won't give up!" He cursed.

"Come at full power!" Sigma challenged.

"Fine! Spark Palm!"

His two palms frizzled with electricity and he jumped towards Sigma: he merely swung his sword 180º starting at the left and the hit left a large dent on Flash Man's body while making him fly out and hit the ground.

"90% lost…! If I keep on, then… I'll begin to take atmospheric damage into me…! Shit…!" He cursed.

"Wanna give it up?" Sigma suggested.

"Shut up…! Shut up…! Spark Palm! Die~!" He hissed.

He jumped across the air but Sigma quickly plunged his large sword through his body: Flash Man made a guttural sound as his bomb program was triggered and he blew up: no data was left behind.

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha! Flash Gordon's Descendant!"

11:58 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hmmm… It'd seem Mr. Voltage wants to mess around with the local weather if you're wandering around this cell phone signal antenna…"

"How dare you!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Now make us a favor and go back to your HQ."

"Shaddup! The great I will defeat you lowlife!"

"Come on, Elec Man… I know all of your attacks: I've fought you in VR simulations lots of time. I can be done with you in barely two minutes for your information."

"Gloat while you can! Lightning Flare!"

"My, my! Can't be helped! Charged shotgun shot!"

"Ugoh!"

Blood Shadow was facing Duplicate Elec Man: he'd just managed to land a shot on him from a close distance and the guy had to recoil.

"Elec Sword! Hra~h!"

"Hmmm… Gotcha."

Blood Shadow grabbed it with his left hand and seemingly absorbed it: the energy flowed into the shotgun and speeded the load up to D Elec Man's utter disbelief.

"I simply changed its polarity!" He grinned.

"Why, you…!" Elec Man cursed.

"Hmmm… Aha." Blood Shadow muttered.

He suddenly warped and appeared in front of D Elec Man: he placed the shotgun on the right shoulder and shot: the attack tore it off and D Elec Man groaned.

"I-impossible… I've lost 39% of my HQ by now…! Lightning Flare!" Elec Man groaned.

Blood Shadow calmly absorbed it and blew up the other arm: D Elec Man hissed but then found the shotgun being aimed at his chest.

"You're a danger to Network Society, so… No hard feelings." Blood Shadow calmly told him.

He shot through him and detonated the bomb program along the way: Elec Man roared in agony before he was blown up into unsalvageable pieces of data.

"Too easy, even… I'm afraid something else is waiting for me." He grimly muttered.

"Snake Arrow!"

Blood Shadow quickly dodged as D Snake Man appeared inside of the Cyber World: he'd been colored black and brown and his eyes were red while an army of small black snakes formed files around him thus protecting him.

"D Snake Man… So you sent D Elec Man as bait?"

"Correct, Net Savior!" D Snake Man replied.

"Sorry. But I'm not a Net Savior. I'm an ally of justice." Blood Shadow calmly corrected.

"Whatever! Go! Snake Bite!"

D Snake Man hid in the jar and suddenly shot forward at a mad speed while opening his fangs: Blood Shadow put the shotgun's barrel inside before delivering a kick to the upper body: D Snake Man was forced to return to his original position.

"Snake Buster!"

He took out two busters and began to bombard Blood Shadow's position: he got hit by some of the shots but paid no heed to them as some black objects appeared and repaired the wounds at a quick speed to D Snake Man's utter surprise.

"Auto – repair nanomachines are useful, aren't they?"

"Damn." He hissed.

"So? What are you gonna do?"

"Snake Arrow, Chainshot!"

Several of the snakes shot towards Blood Shadow: he drew a Fire Sword and sliced them off while setting them on fire: D Snake Man looked impatient by now as evidenced by his grimace.

"Snake Bite! The end!"

"Wrong."

Blood Shadow quickly severed the upper section of the body and it fell into the ground: he groaned and tried to crawl back but his body began to emit bursts of light.

"No…! The anti-capture code…! IMPOSSIBLE~!" He roared.

He also was destroyed by his bomb and Blood Shadow sighed in relief.

"Two in a row. Heh, heh, heh. I guess Sigma will be mad at me!" He muttered with some amusement on his voice.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Now we're matched, Bloody~ Shadowy~! I just beat the punk Colored Man's evil brother-in-law!"

"What in the… That sounds too silly!"

"…and thus the demise shall bring forth the stirring mystical energies of the Universe to become one with it and…" Dragon's Hell voice intoned.

"Dragon… Grhtxjl! Anger God: Descend!"

"By Master Confucius!" Dragon Hell actually gasped.

"Mugro~h! ANGER! I AM… ANGER GOD! ME… RULE EARTH!"

THUD!

"Whoa! He actually fainted? Dragon… You're WEIRD. Really."

"Hah, hah, hah! Hah, hah, hah! Blood: 100! Dragon: 0! Mwah, hah, hah!"

12:13 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hiya~! Who's in for a meteor shower tonight?"

"Give it up, Darkloid."

"What… Commander Search Man's "Original"… This might be interesting, even! Heh, heh, heh. Shooting Star Shower!"

"Crap."

Search Man had to jump into the air to dodge the attacks which came out of the portal Star Man opened: he then floated into the air and lifted his arms.

"Meteor!"

Some meteors rained down around Search Man and he cursed as he tried to take aim.

"Scope Gun!"

"Slow!"

Star Man quickly dodged and opened another portal: five-pointed stars began to fly out and bombard the area: Search Man jumped from one to the other and aimed his Scope Gun again.

"Scope Gun!"

Star Man dropped towards the ground but the shot had been intended to meet him in mid-descent: it hit his forehead and forced him to momentarily lower his guard.

"Search Grenades!"

Search Man threw them around Star Man and they detonated thus inflicting some damage into him.

"How dare you…! Meteor!"

"Freeze Bullet!"

"No way!"

Search Man froze the meteors and then aimed behind him to freeze Star Man's legs and he tried to attack him from behind.

"There are no blind spots for Search Man." Laika smugly announced.

"Crap. Shooting Star Shower!"

Star Man opened the portal: several fast beams of light flew out towards Search Man and made contact, but a log appeared on his place.

"No way!" Star Man gasped.

Four _shuriken_ got stuck into his body from behind and he dropped into his knees from their weight: Search Man landed in front of him and calmly aimed the Scope Gun.

"Crap AND CRAP. I've lost 36% of my HP already… I've gotta turn serious, or else… Meteor!"

"Same trick won't work twice." Laika grinned.

"Freeze Bullet! Search Grenades!"

The Freeze Bullet froze the meteors and the Search Grenades rolled across the ground at Star Man's feet: three explosions rang out and he yelped as he tried to shield himself.

"Program Advance! Vulcan, Triple Slot In!"

"Mugen Vulcan!"

The shots from the Program Advance inflicted a high level of damage to Star Man and he shrieked as he stepped back: he looked rather angered by now and ready to kill anything.

"81%! I've lost 81% of my HP…! How dare you…! I'll slaughter you and make mincemeat of you to drop you into Hell! Metors! Shooting Star Shower! The end!"

He shot both meteors and shooting stars at Search Man but he didn't look worried in the least.

"Area Steal, Samurai Sword!"

Search Man warped and appeared in front of Star Man: he made a superficial cut from the left shoulder until the right hip and he yelled again.

"No way…! 91% damage…! I'm losing 1.5 HP per second…! And my max HP capped at 1800, so I'm now at 162 HP…! At this speed… I'll be dead in 1 minute 48 seconds…!" He gasped.

"Search Man! Don't attack the target unless it strikes. Even if we don't do anything, it'll be deleted in about a minute and a half." Laika calmly commanded.

"Roger, Laika – sama."

"Why, you…! Meteor! Meteor! Meteor! Delete~!"

Search Man calmly jumped away and dodged while Star Man threw the meteors at random across the area: he was becoming weaker with each second and he finally collapsed.

"1 minute has passed, so… He lost 90 HP… He should have about 72 HP left by now. 48 seconds more and he'll be deleted." Search Man calmly calculated.

"Careful. He might try to turn _kamikaze_." Laika warned.

"Hra~h! Code 222! DIE~!" He exclaimed.

He self-destructed and nothing remained of him: Search Man cancelled his combat mode.

"Enemy self-destruction: confirmed." He reported.

"Good job. Return." Laika commanded.

"Roger, sir."

"Mwah, hah, hah! "The blade shall blade the soul"…" Sigma quoted all of a sudden over the radio.

"What in the… That's… impossible!" Laika groaned.

"When will he stop printing those pointless banners?"

12:27 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So… The California Gold Rush culprit is here."

"Watch your words, emissary of the _Naraku_!"

"Hmpf."

"Shadow Man!"

"Cosmo Man… So you guys dared to show your hide around. Hmpf. It might worth my time, after all, even."

Shadow Man was facing Cosmo Man: the second looked angered while Shadow Man was cool.

"And you showed up at the Fort Knox gold depot… Fitting."

"Grftjx! Cosmo Buster! "Neo Gospel" is still around! We'll prove our might to you lowlifes before we rise again to full power!"

"Slow."

Shadow Man suddenly vanished and left a log on his place: Cosmo Man gasped and quickly turned around to block him as he came from behind.

"You lowlife!"

"Hmpf. Classical." Shadow Man muttered.

"Cosmo Ring!"

The attack hit Shadow Man given the proximity with Cosmo Man and he had to push back: he drew his _katana_ and assumed a combat pose while Cosmo Man readied his fists.

"Cosmo Gate!"

A gateway opened in the "sky" and several planetoid-shaped brown-colored objects rained down and bombarded the area: Shadow Man calmly ran around the area and then tried to hit Cosmo Man: he delivered a punch to Shadow Man's torso and sent him flying across the area to then land hard in the ground: Cosmo Man formed a smug grin on his face.

"Damn. This guy is big and fast… Guess we'll need something different, Miyabi." He grumbled.

"Hmmm… Let's try the Shadow Clone approach." Miyabi calmly suggested to him.

"Shadow Clone!"

"What!" Cosmo Man gasped.

All of Shadow Man's copies attacked at the same time: Cosmo Man could strike at some of them but others left wounds on his body: he growled and drew the Cosmo Ring.

"Cosmo Ring! Cosmo Buster!"

The combination took out all Shadow Men but a rain of _shuriken_ descended upon him and plunged into different spots of his body: he growled and stepped back.

"Damn. 15% damage already… Hmpf. So you will fight a bit. But how long will that trick last?" He muttered.

He suddenly jumped into the air and began climbing up.

"Running away? I won't let it." Shadow Man muttered.

He began to chase after Cosmo Man: he suddenly turned around and let go of the handrail: he fell on top of Shadow Man and made him get crushed into the ground: Shadow Man groaned.

"How's that like?" Cosmo Man taunted.

"Why, you…!" Shadow Man cursed.

"Area Steal!" Miyabi commanded.

Shadow Man warped and panted as he drew his _katana_.

"Recovery 200!"

"Good. Shadow Blade!"

"Hmpf. Weak!"

Cosmo Man used his thick armlets to block the spur of attack and then suddenly kicked Shadow Man in the face: Shadow Man recoiled but Cosmo Man was already there.

"Cosmo Buster!"

"Whack!"

Shadow Man howled something and tried to recover: he warped to a higher level but Cosmo Man was already waiting for him: he barely dodged his next swing of fists by ducking and then jumped down but Cosmo Man happened to be two steps ahead of him.

"Damn. This guy is no joke even without their "Dark Generator" they loved to use in the summer! Then again, Search Man was the only who could delete me three years ago when the Control X stuff…" He grumbled.

"Those sandals make you slow, assassin. You'll know what powerlessness means soon enough." Cosmo Man grinned.

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword!"

"Dream Sword!"

"What!"

The attack hit Cosmo Man and he howled in pain as an explosion ensued: he panted and stepped back but looked in top shape.

"Hah… I've lost 45% of my HP, so… I've still got 1100 HP left. The same trick won't have effect on me twice." He grinned.

"_Shuriken_ Needles!"

"Slow."

Cosmo Man ignored them and kicked Shadow Man before delivering an uppercut which pushed him into a higher level: he warped there and attacked but a log appeared on Shadow Man's place and he got four _shuriken_ on his back: he spun around in a blur and kicked Shadow Man on the chest area thus propelling him into the ground level again: he jumped down and tried attacking but the _kawarimi _trick fooled him.

"Damn. Now I've lowered my guard and damage escalated to 60%...! 800 HP left… Enough!" He muttered.

"Hmpf. Same trick _does_ work twice." Shadow Man taunted.

"You lowlife." Cosmo Man hissed.

"The _Naraku_ is howling to have your soul." Shadow Man announced.

"_Naraku _Man." Cosmo Man made a smug smile.

"Hmpf." Shadow Man looked unimpressed.

"Cosmo Gate!"

The planetoids bombarded the area around Cosmo Man and intercepted Shadow Man when he tried to go for a sneak approach: Cosmo Man punched him and kicked him several times before a planetoid hit him fully: Shadow Man managed to stand and looked exhausted.

"Well! It'd seem you wish to die again. I'll make your wish come to be, assassin! Say farewell!" He grinned.

"Muramasa Blade!"

"No way!"

Shadow Man slashed with the cursed blade and provoked a deep wound to open on Cosmo Man's chest: he howled and dropped to his knees.

"Damn. I made 650 HP of damage to him and he returned 500 to me in one hit… I've got 300 HP left, so… I've lost 85% of my total HP! This is starting to look awry…" He muttered.

"How was that?" Shadow Man taunted.

"Hmpf. You tricked me… But you can only carry one Muramasa Blade in your folder. You won't be able to use it twice. Cosmo Buster!"

"Straw Doll!"

The Straw Doll was hit and glowed with purple energy: it returned some of the damage at Cosmo Man: he howled.

"Damn it. Farewell!"

He opened the "gateway" and flew inside of it before it closed: Miyabi sighed in relief.

"Huff… This one was the biggest challenge I've had in years. I need to train myself more: point taken." Shadow Man sighed in relief as he slowly placed the _katana_ back inside of the holster.

"Yeah. I guess I didn't take them too seriously."

"Your problem, Miyabi, is superstition."

"Guess so…" Miyabi rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Let's go back and slice some Viruses messing around: a change of airs will do me fine." Shadow Man shrugged.

"Roger, General." Miyabi grinned.

"Heh, heh, heh. So, assassin." A voice rang out in the real world.

"Dr. Regal!" Miyabi grumbled and looked left.

"I still remember your smug grin when I told you I'd realize why you wanted so badly to destroy "Control X" about 3 years ago. Yuriko was there and grinning. And you offered me those damned "Dark Chips" to lure me in." Shadow Man fumed.

"Hmpf."

"Regal! Found you. What. Trying to elude the Net Police vigilance?" Dr. Wily's voice grumbled.

"Who knows, Father? Maybe you're the one doing that?"

"GRHJTX! Listen to me, Regal! It's about time you at least tried to say "I apologize"! Have you even tried?"

"Hmpf. Who would bother to see me for anything else? I am a freak to begin with, Father." Dr. Regal taunted back.

"CHE! We'll settle this on the apartment! You need some scolding!"

12:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huh? A mail… From that Sidier guy!"

"What!"

Netto and Saito were still inside of the command bridge: Vadous had resumed his place and was typing into the computer when Netto's Link PET beeped and he gasped upon seeing the contents of the email he'd received.

"Eh… "Rock Man: I challenge you to an honorific duel in the old WWW Base. Dark Ryuusei – sama will be referee and anyone else you might want to bring along as witness is welcomed to watch: it'll be a fair and noble battle. I'll be waiting for you by 13:30 PM, so try to be punctual. _Mazokuchou_ Sidier." … What should we do?" Netto asked.

"Hmmm… If he openly invites any witnesses, then he must want to prove he pretends to play fair. And I guess that Dark Ryuusei guy is not fond of cheat codes, either. Let's leave your cyborg body here, Saito, and go meet them. Omega will come along as witness." Vadous decided.

"Roger, sir. I'm eager to see what kind of tricks that guy uses: I'm ready for anything." Saito grinned.

"But… We're gonna fight because it's a challenge, right? I mean…" Netto argued.

"I know. No hard feelings."

"Good enough. Let's get on the move: this battle promises to be important, after all." Vadous nodded in agreement.

The three of them stepped down from the command bridge and entered a small bedroom which had a bed, a small desk and a cupboard: Saito climbed on it and transferred into the PET: Netto nodded to Vadous and they exited the room.

"Let's go: an important battle is waiting for us." He commanded.

"Roger! And we'll fight fair and square as Net Saviors!"


	26. Chapter 25: Clash

**Chapter 25: Clash**

13:06 PM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…

"… The old WWW Base… It reminds me of back when we came here to look for you, niisan… The then amnesiac Forte brought you here to read your memories and find out who he was…"

"Yeah. Nothing's changed… Oh. Wait. The Plug – In port… It's an old model, so… How are we gonna Plug – In now?"

"Don't worry: I brought adapters."

"_Danna_ always has a gadget at hand: he's like Bond."

"Oh. Come on."

Netto had been speaking with Saito as they headed over to the old computers: Vadous took out the adapters from a compartment in the belt which he handed over and Omega, standing to his right, grinned: Vadous rolled his eyes and didn't seem to find it funny.

"_Thank you_! Vadous – san!" Netto thanked.

He set the adapter on the port and then aimed the Link PET at it with a large grin on his face.

"O. K.! Plug In! Rock Man EXE, Transmission!"

Rock Man entered the system and walked up the stairs: he soon found the room where Forte had brought him to 3 years ago and spotted both Sidier and Dark Ryuusei standing there.

"Oh… You came faster than I thought." Sidier grinned.

"Sidier. And Dark Ryuusei… You must want to test how far my power can go, right?" Saito guessed.

"Yep. I see you brought company." Dark Ryuusei smiled.

"Yeah. That's me. I guess you both have a Walter PPK7 under your right armpit." Omega confirmed as he walked up the stairs as well with a grin on his face.

"Guess so!" Dark Ryuusei grinned.

"Oi, oi! S! There was gonna be a show and ya didn't call us over? I guess "a – le – le" must be waiting for ya…"

"Not that again…"

Harp Note DS and Burai DS came out of the gateway and walked over to Dark Ryuusei: he scratched the back of his helmet.

"Ah… Sorry. I thought I'd told you two." He apologized.

"Tee, heh, heh. That's better, Snake – chan." Harp Note DS told him.

"Oh. Come on. Quit with the Nicknames War." Burai DS rolled his eyes.

"Eh… Do excuse me, my lord, but…" Sidier bowed and called out.

"We'll settle this later: the showdown is about to start." Dark Ryuusei sentenced.

"Fine." Harp Note DS shrugged.

"Let's see what tricks will be used today." Burai DS grinned.

"One rule: only Sword – Type Battle Chips are allowed. Take your time setting up the Folder." Dark Ryuusei announced.

"Oh… Swords… It looks elegant." Omega looked amused.

"Guess so…" Vadous muttered.

"Ah… Let's see…" Netto muttered as he checked his pouch.

"Make sure to balance it properly, Netto – kun." Saito warned.

"… O. K.! Eh… One of these… Two of these… I'll put this one here as a trump… Prepare for two Program Advances… And… Over!" Netto muttered aloud as he organized the folder by inputting the Chip's data into the Link PET's flash memory.

"It looks balanced enough. I guess you won't have any trouble with them but don't be confident: I've run into a tight spot myself for being too confident." Vadous warned.

"Roger! Battle Chip, Long Sword! Slot In!"

"Heh, heh, heh… Hra~h!" Sidier chuckled.

He spread his arms and arched his body slightly backwards as the mantle slowly dissolved while leaving a trail of diamond patterns.

"Wow!"

He then looked forward with a broad smile and two small red-colored dagger-like objects with a shining red core showed up to his head's right and next to his left leg.

"W-what?" Saito gasped.

"These are my small tools… They can inflict as much as 5 HP of damage each one. I'm serious, in case you thought the contrary." Sidier announced while looking eager.

"Sidier. No weird moves like damaging joints or something like that." Dark Ryuusei warned.

"Yes, my Lord. By your orders, sir."

He began walking forward as the two objects spun around their axis and his right hand glowed with a pale red light as Sidier opened it.

"I take out both objects and then…" Saito muttered.

He calmly aimed for each one and then tried to hit Sidier: he dodged by jumping backwards and brought up another two daggers which hovered next to each elbow: Saito took them out again and then tried hit him coming from the left: Sidier used his palm to block the edge of the Long Sword and another two objects showed up above his head and just below his waist: they stopped spinning and aimed for Saito.

"Ugh…! He stopped it with the hand…! Almost like Shadow Man back when the Control X stuff…!" He muttered.

"Try to break out of the deadlock." Netto suggested.

"Hmpf." Sidier grinned.

Saito's Long Sword suddenly broke into data and reformed on Sidier's right forearm: he hit Saito with it at the same time both daggers shot.

"Uack!"

Saito was kicked into the ground and felt the two thin lasers hitting him as well: Sidier calmly made the sword deform from his forearm and reform on Saito's forearm.

"Che. He can steal swords!" Saito grumbled.

"Intriguing." Omega looked amused.

"I don't see anything "intriguing" with it." Vadous told him with a hint of skepticism.

"Crap. Let's go for it again!" Saito muttered.

He calmly followed Sidier's movements and took out the daggers before managing to land four or five hits in a row: each of them produced more of those diamond patterns: Sidier warped while leaving those patterns behind and reappeared in another spot of the room.

"Fast!"

Saito tried to hit him but he blocked the blade again and the daggers aimed for Saito.

"Ho, ho, ho…" He chuckled.

"Crap."

The lasers hit Saito and Sidier jumped backwards while repeating the pattern: he circled around Saito and he tried to keep his calm as he followed his movements: he aimed for one of the daggers but Sidier intercepted him.

"I'll be borrowing it." He announced.

He picked it and hit Saito with it before returning it: Saito stood up and looked nervous.

"Battle Chip, Samurai Sword! Slot In!"

Saito managed to land four hits on Sidier by coming from the NW and Sidier jumped back: he now summoned _four_ spinning daggers and blocked Saito's next strike: the four of them hit Saito and forced him to put some distance between each other: he began to sweat and wiped it off while Sidier looked fresh and calm.

"Being able to keep such a face the whole time makes me nervous, for some reason…" He muttered.

"Yeah. I'm sweating over here, too." Netto admitted.

"This atmosphere doesn't help, either." Vadous muttered.

"It's… mild, I'd say." Omega looked amused.

"Huff… Let's go!"

He managed to take two of the four daggers out but Sidier blocked him and stole the Samurai Sword.

"Samurai Sword!" He announced.

"Wha!"

The attack damaged Saito and he got his Samurai Sword back: Sidier stepped back and began walking forward again at a calm pace like he was walking down a street: the daggers suddenly flew and shot past Saito while leaving small cuts on his body.

"Recovery 100, Slot In!"

"Phew. I feel better." Saito muttered.

"You won't for much longer, Rock Man." Sidier warned.

"Uh-oh." Netto gulped.

Saito tried to ignore it and managed to deliver some hits to Sidier: he took out his tongue before summoning both of his custom swords: he held the right one aiming NW and the left one parallel to the ground.

"Two swords… And I can't seem to transfer you a second one: there's some restriction in the transfer protocol…" Netto muttered.

"It'll be enough, Netto – kun." Saito calmly replied.

"I've been looking forward to this day. I'll finally have a taste of fresh blood…" Sidier grinned.

Saito gulped and tried to hit the left sword as he held it vertically and the right one was being held horizontally over his head: he quickly spun around with both and pushed Saito into the ground: he then licked each of the blades off.

"Y-yikes!" Saito gasped.

"Then Shade Man wasn't a real vampire… Ironic." Omega muttered with a hint of amusement.

"I don't see the irony on it." Vadous grumbled.

"This guy is a leech." Netto grimly muttered.

"This isn't over yet." Saito rallied.

He managed to land some hits just as Sidier was preparing to attack: he had to jump back and then swung his blades around but Saito dodged just in time: he suddenly summoned about 12 of the daggers which formed an arch over Saito and all dived to impact on him and self-delete: Saito groaned and stepped back.

"He turns deadlier with each hit I do… He's acting like he was a Muramasa Blade!" Saito grimly muttered.

"Yeah. I can see that." Netto looked nervous.

"Heh, heh, heh. How's this like, Rock Man?" Sidier challenged with a broad smile.

He summoned the daggers and they formed a circle around Saito: they dived into him again and pushed him back.

"Recovery 100, Recovery 200! Slot In!"

"Phew." Saito sighed in relief.

"Not yet." Sidier warned.

He suddenly jumped into the air and warped to then appeared above Saito and drop down: he plunged both blades into his shoulder pads and Saito fell into the ground: Sidier warped and reappeared two meters away while licking the blades off.

"Grah… Told ya…" Saito groaned.

"Crap. And this guy is supposed to be a _novice_! I don't wanna even imagine those other guys' powers if they've been training over and over again for 15 years!" Netto grimly muttered.

"I may be a novice but I didn't earn my position out of the blue: I fought my way through each Temple and Tribe without these attacks, using normal Battle Chips and not exploiting elementary weakness. Each took me more than one try but I never gave up: I spent slightly over a month to complete it. I managed to stand up to Burai DS – dono but Harp Note DS – dono was too much for me: I didn't regret it since I knew I couldn't hope to stand up to all of Elites." Sidier explained.

"Temple…? Tribe…? Wait! Those weird Navis you materialized… They already existed and you copied them?" Netto grasped.

"Yeah! They organized in three Tribes: the Death Tribe, led by Ox Fire DS, the Bog Tribe, led by Phantom Black DS and the Fortress Tribe, led by both Grave Joker DS and Acid Ace DS." Dark Ryuusei explained.

"Whoa." The four of them whistled in surprise.

"And he could win over all of them in just over a month even by running for several trials… It must've been extremely demanding!" Omega looked surprised.

"Let's keep on: I'll tell you guys everything once this is over." Dark Ryuusei announced.

"Deal." Vadous confirmed.

"Hop!"

Sidier warped again but Saito dodged as he hit the ground and landed some hits on him: the 12 daggers showed up.

"Eat this!

Saito swung his Samurai Sword to bounce them back at Sidier: he repeated the jump & warp trick but Saito saw it coming so he struck back.

"I think I'm somehow getting a hang of this… But I've gotta be careful or it'll cost me the duel." Saito muttered.

"Heh. I wonder about that, Rock Man…" Sidier grinned.

He summoned the daggers to form a circle: Saito spun around his axis and shot some of them back at Sidier: he summoned three groups of 4 which formed a cross shape: one vertical row and a horizontal one.

"What! The patterns are constantly changing!"

Sidier made them spin around and shot each group at Saito: some hit him and others got bounced off.

"Hmpf. Hra~h!" Sidier exclaimed.

He swung each sword vertically and Saito barely dodged by arching his body backwards: Sidier warped and fell down from above, managing to harm Saito again.

"Recovery 150!" Netto gasped.

"Huff… Huff… This guy isn't giving me any breaks!" Saito muttered.

"A real fight won't give you any breaks, Rock Man!" Sidier warned.

He used the warp trick again and, this time, Saito managed to dodge and land some hits on him: he warped and appeared behind Saito thus managing to bring both swords down on him and harming him: Saito tried to attack back but Sidier warped and showed up while swinging both swords upwards.

"Heh, heh, heh. Go!" Sidier chuckled.

He summoned the three rows of daggers and made them fly towards Saito one after the other: Saito somehow managed to bounce some of them back and others hit him.

"More, more and more~!" Sidier laughed.

"Crap."

Saito had to dodge another attempt to hit him from above and then delivered some hits: Sidier warped and suddenly dropped one sword while clutching the right side of his face as he panted: he muttered something under his breath.

"W-what? We won?" Netto gasped.

"Hmmm… Enough." Dark Ryuusei commanded.

"Heh… It was worth the wait. I lose. But I fought will all I knew, after all, so it isn't something shameful. I guess you're worth of your "hero" fame, Rock Man." Sidier calmly told him as he looked up.

His swords vanished and his mantle reformed over his body: he then bowed to Dark Ryuusei and walked some steps to the right of Burai DS to look on.

"I've gotten some news. The WWW Team defeated their Duplicates save for Elec Man and Zero defeated Bowl Man as well. It looks like none of them are left anymore, be it either Darkloids or Duplicates." Vadous announced.

"Then… The "experiment" is over?" Omega asked.

"Yup! It's over. And we won't be bothering you anymore. We'll be going back home. Since it's almost lunch time… I'll contact you guys around 16:00 PM to tell you our long tale." Dark Ryuusei announced.

"It was intriguing. Guess the Sword God was smiling on us." Harp Note DS giggled.

"Sword God… How original." Burai DS drily told her.

"Eh… So it'd seem… By the way… Dark Ryuusei – sama. What should I do with the remaining Duplicates?" Sidier asked.

"Bring them over and let them decide which Tribe and Temple they want to live along with: they'll keep on being under your authority, though."

"Roger. Well then… Farewell, Net Saviors, Subspace!" Sidier announced with a grin.

"Later." The other three grinned.

A gateway opened up behind them and they all jumped inside: it then closed and both twins sighed in relief.

"You two go back home and have some rest. Then come to the HQ and we'll listen to his tale." Vadous commanded.

"Roger. Plug Out!"

"Let's go roll some barrels down the hill." Omega joked.

"Jeez!"

Netto placed the Link PET on its place while Omega materialized in the real world: Vadous took out a remote-like device.

"Let's open the gateway and get back already before this dust gets into the clothes."

A purple-colored portal opened and Netto calmly stepped into it: the world became just a purple tunnel extending forward through blackness filled with purple electricity: an invisible "force" gripped him and he was propelled forward.

"Wow!"

He emerged from the portal into a small metallic room: a machine was set behind him and it seemed to be generating the portal: the machine had a pyramidal base with a tall ring-shaped structure set on the center of it and with rows of monitors and devices linked to its body: Vadous and Omega came out of the portal as well and the machine shut down.

"Omega: escort them at the landing spot. The usual car will pick you two up. I'll be wrapping things up in the 7th world." Vadous grinned.

"Of worlds and numbers goes World-Number-Mister!"

Netto and Saito laughed at it while Vadous rolled his eyes…


	27. Chapter 26: S' story

**Chapter 26: S' story**

16:08 PM (Japan Time), Sunday January the 13th…

"… Incoming transmission…"

"Patch it through, Black Ace."

"Roger."

"Good afternoon!"

"Whoa!"

The four of them were surprised when the transmission came onscreen: Emperor S and the other two had reverted out of their Battle Forms thus revealing their true forms.

"Heh, heh!"

Emperor S looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.

His hair was colored silver and had a messy style to it while his eyes' irises were a mix of red and golden.

He wore a simple black tunic with a shooting star emblem colored purple placed on the exact center of the tunic's torso: he sported black leather boots and black leather gloves.

A purple cape hung from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the feet.

"Surprised?" He teased.

"Not fair, S. I should go first." H's voice rang out.

H showed up at the left of the throne.

She had reddish-colored hair and her eyes' irises were red.

She looked on her mid-teens, about fifteen or sixteen years old and had a smug smile on her face.

"Tee, heh, heh. B! Come out, too." She called out.

"Yo!"

B showed up at the throne's right.

He had white unkempt hair and a pattern which looked a trail of lighting painted on his right cheek, running down from below the eye: his irises were also red.

He wore two strange pendants reminiscent of an ancient culture which were attached to his ears.

He also looked around fifteen or sixteen years old.

"They really don't look like normal Navis…! They look like humans living in the Cyber World…!" Netto muttered.

"Correct, Hikari Netto. That's our nature. Ah. Excuse me. I haven't really introduced myself yet. Yamikawa Saruba." The lead guy introduced himself.

"Kagehi Somari." The girl announced.

"Kuroumi Solo." The other guy grinned.

"So… What's you guys' tale?" Vadous asked.

"Spectrum was the root of it: 21 years ago. Yet, we've been living in the Cyber World during 16 years. And like I said before, we were normal humans _forced_ to become cybernetic data." Saruba began.

"The root was a foolish researcher assigned to the project before its failure: he got obsessed with having found the key to "eternal youth" within Spectrum and planned to make use of it." Solo continued.

"But this isn't "eternal youth" by any means! Data can't be labeled "young", "middle-aged" or "old": data doesn't feel the flow of time. It's immune to it and Navis don't understand the concept since it means nothing important for them. Custom Navis' mindsets may evolve, but that's all." Somari warned.

"I see… And that man worked on his own goals for those five years before you three were forced to take part into it?" Netto asked.

"Yeah! He faked his death and used the supercomputers to analyze and recreate environments… Have a look at these photos." Saruba replied.

He snapped his right hand's fingers and a holographic screen opened to reveal bird-view's of a desert plain area with many hills and roads as well rocks was filled with sand: a reddish light illuminated the whole area and it looked devoid life expect for a patch of purple-colored Mettools which were seemingly mining around.

"This is the east region: desert plains. The Death Tribe resides on the Death Temple." Saruba announced.

"My turn. Have a look at this region next: maybe you'll want to visit it, even!" Somari giggled.

The view switched to what looked like lakes and lagoons of purple waters: gigantic trees could be seen growing out of the ground: a rusted suspensions bridge crossed over one of the lagoons and one tunnel had been cut across the body of one of the trees.

"Whoa… A whole lagoon… And if the imagery is live, then… It's even _raining_ in there!" Saito gasped.

"This is where the Bog Tribe lives at, within the Bog Temple. I used to live here." Somari let out.

"O. K. Here I go. Fasten your seatbelts." Solo joked.

The view switched to a ground camera inside of a cavern: it stepped out through an open circular opening and stumbled upon an incredible view: a great fortress was set atop a tall mountain connected to the rest of the area by a large, modern-looking suspension bridge which crossed over the unending abyss surrounding the mountain: the structure was over a kilometer tall and it had many windows, ledges, wires and other stuff protruding out of it at different heights and intervals.

"Whoa~!" Everyone exclaimed.

"This is where the Fortress Tribe has its HQ: the Fortress Temple. It's the power generator for our entire world: the "Dark Realm"."

"And, lastly…" Saruba teased.

The view switched cameras and displayed a building shaped like the club from the Trump cards floating above a small plaza: the ceiling was open and a round room in which the three of them were at could be seen: three red-colored energy beams flew across the air from the east, west and north: they headed for a lower floor of the building and stopped there.

"What are those beams?" Omega lifted his eyebrows.

"They are the sub-generators feeding the main generator: this balance of energy brings some illumination to our world and makes it easier to travel than it'd been before." Saruba replied.

"So! That man spent 5 years building this. What happened after it'd been completed?" Vadous questioned.

"It's not a nice story. Generally we never speak of it and it's a taboo. But we didn't get this far out of the blue: we had to survive five eternal years of agony." Solo sighed.

"We'd just finished middle school. And one night we'd met to make plans for the summer, some thugs abducted us and brought us to KA – 222 in chopper: the man set us inside of conversion devices he'd built up and forced us to undergo the process because he wanted "young mice" to experiment with: we were then split and locked down in each Temple's basement dungeons." Somari continued in an icy voice: she was obviously holding her anger back.

"It must've mind-breaking." Vadous guessed.

"Correct! Can you even _begin_ to imagine it? You were a normal human but you suddenly find yourself locked inside of a dungeon which in truth is part of a gigantic cybernetic cage! The man quickly seized the throne for himself and made sure that the whole equipment was destroyed to make it impossible to cancel the process. You suddenly found out that you didn't have blood, lungs, organs, heart and not even a brain: your skin was a mere recreation. You'd be forced to stay like this forever… What point was there to live as an imitation of your former self?"

"None." Vadous quickly muttered.

"We'd immediately killed ourselves but the man had foreseen this: he planned on rebuilding us each time and making us undergo the same thing over and over again until he'd worn out all of our will and turned us into mere mice! It was the _Naraku_ itself!" Saruba exclaimed as he stood up and walked down from the throne while closing both fists: he had a grimace on his face and his eyes shone with rage.

"H-horrible…! That man…! That guy had to be a demon!" Saito gasped in horror.

"Only a demon could do such stuff!" Netto muttered.

"Damn. And I thought Anaya Maria's handiworks were horrible: this is even worse." Vadous cursed.

"Yeah! That man was a real demon!" Solo confirmed.

"But salvation came… The Tribe Chiefs couldn't bear that demon anymore: he forced them to do forced labor by threatening them with deletion. He ruled over each Tribe with the help of gigantic programs labeled the "Guardians": Andromeda, Ra Mu and Crimson Dragon. They were extremely powerful in battle and none of the Tribe Members was able to wound it much: not even by attacking all of them at the same time they could defeat it: even if their power core was broken, a new one would be immediately regenerated and, by then, all of them were already exhausted. They decided that they wouldn't listen to such a man and sought our help: they told us that we could build anything in this world out of imagination: we could come up with a power strong enough to defeat those machines, even!" Somari explained.

"And you spent those next 5 years fighting for your freedom…" Vadous guessed.

"Yeah. That's why we developed our Battle Forms and I developed the Ryuusei Program. It could grant me two extremely devastating attacks which were what defeated Andromeda after all those years."

"Wow."

"Solo and Somari – chan also managed to defeat the other two given their high HP and multiple combo Folders. We then stormed the Great Sky Temple, where we are at, and tried to negotiate with the man. But he wouldn't listen and instead tried to kill us: we attacked back out of self-defense and deleted him. But we really didn't intend to: we just tried to defend ourselves." Saruba sighed.

"And you then took up the post?" Netto frowned.

"No. My original intent was to remain living in the Death Temple and forget about the place. But they claimed that I'd be able to lead them in a wiser manner: I'd lived along them and fought along them. I still didn't like the idea, so we tuned it a bit: I didn't have to be "Emperor" 24/7: I could always leave the place empty and camp with any of the Tribes for a while to train and try out new battle strategies. Solo or Somari – chan could take the throne anytime: but it didn't mean any real authority per se. It was just a title." Saruba explained.

"I see. You wanted to avoid no matter what the temptation which comes with power." Saito grasped.

"Yeah. And thus we began monitoring the outside world using those Navi frame hijacking programs: we saw the evolution of the Network and sometimes lent a secret hand to the authorities in some aspects. We can't stand petty criminals who impose their rule over others out of fear. Creeps who abuse teens out of lust are included into that category, too. That's why we were glad to know you, Vadous, had helped the authorities bring down the most criminal of all creeps: Anaya Maria A. K. A. the "Ice Queen" or the "Lady"..." Somari admitted.

"Whoa. Anaya had had to be an extremely dangerous person if you guys label it like that: we know she was a psycho but..." Netto looked nervous.

"We won't go into details: we know it's a taboo for Vadous, so… Now you know how we came to be and what we're doing here." Solo replied.

"… Boss. Lartes has the results." Omega suddenly whispered to him.

"Well?" Vadous asked.

"Zero: those names don't figure _anywhere_. He tried looking in the missing people list or local graveyards: zero, too. He brought the list of the researchers in the Spectrum Project: zero as well. Something doesn't fit here." Omega whispered.

"… You guys… There's one thing you haven't admitted and which must be why we can't find a register of you anywhere." Vadous told them.

"Oh… Catching up?" Saruba looked amused.

"You guys come from _another Time-Space_! The same one which shows up on those "Past Visions" floating around the Reverse Cyber World! Just like Kuroshiro… You all come from there! Don't you guys?" Vadous told them.

"True. Kuroshiro was a resident there, as you already know. We cooperated with Kanou and Kuroshiro by giving them the three "Guardians" and some programs: they built our generators and helped us design Sidier."

"And you wanted to check us out so… That's why you set this experiment up: it was like those mock drills to prepare for the Normandy landings back in 1944: real shelling and battle conditions. Yet no – one has really gotten hurt or died, so we should be glad of it." Vadous deduced.

"Wait a minute, Yamikawa! What happened to Oriol there?" Netto quickly asked.

"Ah. Well. He and Kanou set up "Golden Star" to be a challenge to the local Net Police and did get to recruit you two using another ID but they didn't transmit their message well enough and people there ended up assuming they were "evil"…" He sighed.

"I see…" Saito muttered.

"So they decided to go for a new attempt into uncharted horizons by trying a new trip across Time – Space… I don't know if they've succeeded or not and there's no way to know. But Kuroshiro seems to have managed to shake off all those worries and such… Another reason you got the wrong idea about them was that he used you as basis to try to see how could the implant work and use that feedback to purge his cyber brain…"

"Ah… So there was still something left on his cyber brain?" Vadous looked concerned.

"But it was very small stuff, I believe… I think that they will have good luck and will be able to find a place to belong to… Legato was very active too and he seemed to improve his personality too…" Solo added.

"By the way… The initials "B" and "H"… You drew them up because you three share the "S" initial, right?" Omega asked.

"Correct."

"And "KO" looks like that and is named like that?"

"Frankly, not. We got inspired outta the blue. Sorry. I've been trying to find the guy but he seems to avoid the Cyber World and rely on physical real-world meetings. I know Shadow Man stumbled upon Cosmo Man and he fled but it'd seem that Twilight _is_ still missing."

"Missing 'cause he's gone to hack _Pocket Monsters_ _Green_ and become the "Missing Number"…" Somari joked.

"Very funy, Somari – chan!" Solo didn't find it funny.

"No, no! It's really original, really!" Omega encouraged.

"What happened to your serious mood, anyway?"

"Guess some glitch Sigma carried over to me…"

"Sigma… You always bring trouble around! Don't you?"

"And the idea for naming Sidier came from Vadous – san, right?"

"Sure. Since Twilight was "Twilight" and not "Sidier" then I thought I could recycle this name." Saruba admitted with a grin.

"Oi! Sidier. Come say bye." Solo called out.

"Roger. Well then, Rock Man… Do make sure to improve and maybe you'll be able to stand up to Freeze Man. If Hinoken doesn't beat you to it…"

"Oh come on." Saito rolled his eyes.

"Well then… It's time to return to "our" Time-Space… Don't lower the guard because you don't know what "KO", the "Neo Gospel" survivors and Twilight will come up with next."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going to try to drive them to a corner."

"Farewell!"

The line got disconnected and everyone remained silent for a minute or two as if assimilating everything: Vadous sighed.

"I guess there's one reason that demon researcher picked them of all people: he must've been one of their fathers." Vadous let out.

"And if we go by the fact that "Yamikawa" has the _yami Kanji_, then… I guess it was his father. But how can you call such a guy "father" after what he did not only to his son but to his friends and also tried to have them killed? That was no father." Omega argued.

"Yeah… And they were right: that's no "eternal youth"! It's an illusion. People blinded by illusions have ended up bad all along History… And they were acting in self-defense: the result was not expected. They can't be blamed for what happened." Saito sighed and looked sad.

"I agree. They were victims, too. And we've learnt something: we can't complain of having gone through some "bad" experiences… Our cases were pale compared to others across the world. So we need to fight to protect our friends from such a danger." Netto argued.

"You two are growing fast: I like that." Vadous turned the chair around and made a weak smile.

"Thank you, Vadous – san." Both replied.

"So? What do we tell the others?" Omega asked.

"Let's sum it up: they were testing us. They've concluded the whole thing and will disappear from our lives. So let's look on forward and tackle those guys out there." Vadous suggested with a shrug.

"Say… Is it me or I'm noticing a _curry_ smell?" Netto asked.

"Yeah. I guess Dragon – san forgot to close the kitchen's doors."

"He could pay more attention to what he does instead of reading books about Confucius: I won't deny that it was a wise man but I don't see how he's connected to being a cook." Vadous rolled his eyes.

"Guess we should be heading back… There are one or two things of the homework I wanna solve." Netto admitted.

"It's almost 17:00 PM, so… I'd like to be back before evening begins to crawl in…" Saito requested.

"Sure. Omega. Use the machine and appeared in the usual warehouse: make sure that the pick-up car is there. We'll be in contact." Vadous smiled.

"We'll be in contact with Mr. Shoes." Omega joked.

"Oi, oi…" Vadous looked skeptical.

"Mr. Shoes…" The twins were hardly muffling their laughter.

"He's a clever bird." Omega let out.

"Grah! I GOTTA fix that glitch soon!"

"When they announce the next _Pocket Monsters_ game~…?"

"NO! This same week…!" Vadous growled.

"Mwah, hah, hah. Oi, Dragon! The Cooking Goddess smiles on you and sends you "Bianca" roses for your girlfriend!"

"T-that is not possible, Sigma – dono…!" Dragon Hell sounded horrified at the prospect.

"At least he spoke normally… And I guess Sigma's looming over him to scare him… I dunno why he seems to fear the "Anger God" 'cause I don't know any to begin with…" Vadous muttered with some defeatism.

"The answer is… 'Cause Dragon is afraid of his own Hell!"

Omega laughed but the others didn't seem to find the point to the joke…

16:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So… We're gonna go back to our "story" and start the pending "show", Saruba?"

"Yeah. It'll be exciting."

"Tee, heh, heh, heh. But my newest _single_ will be even more exciting. Si – chan: I'm going to dedicate it to ya."

"Ah… Eh… But… Hum…"

"I could stand there all day seeing all the color fluctuations in your face, Si – chan! Oh! I know! My thesis will be… _Teasing a 13 year old shy guy: all of the colors on his face…_!"

Solo, Somari and Saruba had been talking when Somari addressed Sidier and he suddenly turned red while looking extremely nervous.

"Man." Both Solo and Saruba muttered.

"Tee, heh, heh. Ready or not… Showdown!"

She took out the guitar but the three of them actually ran off, Solo dragging Sidier along by pulling his right arm: Somari made a broad grin and laughed.

"Kyah, hah, hah…! My, my! Bad boys will always be bad boys!" She giggled.

"… I swear. We _need_ to go camp out _a whole week_."

"Yeah. Else our ears will ache for days."

"Ah… What are my orders, sir?"

Solo and Saruba looked totally exasperated while Sidier was saluting and looking nervous.

"Pick your own Temple and camp out as well. By the way… Did you three warriors pick a Temple already?" Saruba commanded before asking.

"I guess they did." Solo grinned.

"Yes, sires… Empress DS headed to the Death Temple, Search Man DS headed to the Bog Temple and Zero DS headed to the Fortress Temple. Everyone has welcomed them and I imagine they will have a good integration." Sidier bowed.

"Good, good! Anyway… I'll be going to the Bog Temple myself: a change of airs won't do badly." Saruba admitted.

"Then I'll check out the guys at the Death Temple. You can come along if you want to, Sidier." Solo invited.

"Thank you very much, sires, but… I imagine I'll be heading to the Fortress Temple… There should be some balance." Sidier saluted.

"Good. Remember, Sidier: you're free to voice any opinions or thoughts. And I'll let that of the "Ancient Mansion" thing slip because it was necessary to keep Empress DS under control." Saruba told him.

"I deeply apologize for not reporting honestly, but I thought it was not a good idea to admit." Sidier bowed again.

"Once is once. But there'll be no second time. Gotcha?" Saruba warned Sidier.

"There'll be no second time 'cause the door will get stuck half-way open and a _paparazzi_ will butt in." Solo laughed.

"Very original!" Saruba drily told him.

"Ah… That was rather… intriguing, I'd say…" Sidier looked like he was about to laugh at the joke.

"_Oh yeah! Rock 'n Roll_! _Bring out the rockets: we're gonna go to the Moon and tell Planet Man get the hell outta 'ere 'cause this is our base~_! _Tee, heh, heh!_" Somari's voice rang out along with the guitar noises.

"Crap." The three of them muttered.

"_And such our tale ends 'ere but will continue elsewhere~_!" She exclaimed.

The three men sighed in defeat while Somari laughed aloud: they were obviously fed up with her silly "singles" to begin with…


	28. Chapter 27: Means to an end

**Chapter 27: Means to an end**

17:45 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday January the 15th…

"… Ready?"

"We're as ready as we'll ever be."

Charles and Netto were facing each other inside of one of the Sub Space HQ's VR Rooms: an almost invisible Dimensional Area engaged inside of the room.

"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

Both of them were transferred into the room's Cyber World once the Cross Fusion was complete: they ended up in an open plaza surrounded by tall buildings and assumed combat poses.

"Showdown!" Both exclaimed.

"Justice Sword!"

"Neo Variable Sword!"

"CF" Charles' golden-colored Long Sword clashed with "CF" Netto's: they were locked in place, but, then, "CF" Charles pointed the blade downwards and slashed him diagonally in the chest: "CF" Netto spun around and eyed the wound in a calm manner without looking surprised.

"Recovery 100, Slot In!"

The wound healed leaving no trace of it having been inflicted and "CF" Netto got ready for the next attack.

"Justice Cannon!"

"Mega Cannon, Slot In!"

The two attacks shot out and "CF" Charles' almost hit "CF" Netto since he'd pointed the cannon some centimeters upwards so that his blast would not met "CF" Netto's head-on but fly upwards to try to hit his helmet: "CF" Netto ducked just in time and "CF" Charles jumped towards the left to dodge "CF" Netto's blast.

"Justice Bomb!"

"Mega Energy Bomb!"

"CF" Charles threw a Mega Energy Bomb colored golden in a graceful arch which sent it behind "CF" Netto's feet: he, however, jumped and kicked it back with his right foot and the same time he threw his own Mega Energy Bomb towards the right.

"Here goes my Super Kick Attack!" "CF" Netto announced with obvious amusement.

"Wha!" "CF" Charles gasped.

The two bomb attacks caught "CF" Charles by surprise: he quickly drew his Justice Sword to slice both of them but their explosion at close range hit him and made him skid some meters backwards across the ground, nevertheless.

"Drill Arm!"

"Justice Fist!"

"CF" Charles' arm protection shone golden and tried to hit the incoming "CF" Netto, who was using a Drill Arm on his right arm: "CF" Netto jumped, aimed for the left, and hit "CF" Charles: he then jumped backwards to avoid a second attempt from "CF" Charles to hit him.

"Holy Dream!"

"Justice Blast!"

The blinding white sphere of energy flew towards a golden beam of energy which was shot from a buster which had formed on "CF" Charles' right arm: the two attacks clashed, merged and quickly imploded due to their instability.

"Whoa!"

The shockwave hit both combatants fully and they were pushed backwards by it: they panted for a moment and then resumed the battle while grinning.

"Settle in one attack!" "CF" Charles challenged.

"That's fine!" "CF" Netto replied.

"Program Advance! Justice Sword, Triple Slot In!"

"Program Advance! Hi – Cannon, Triple Slot In!"

"Golden… BLADE!"

"Giga Cannon!"

The blast shot against a golden column of energy and the impact was brutal: it caused an ever more brutal explosion which sent both of them flying across the room in opposite directions.

"Whoa~h!"

"Uoa~h!"

"CF" Netto crashed against the side of a building while "CF" Charles hit a police car.

"Grah!"

The force from the impacts cancelled their Cross Fusions: both were "pulled" out of the room's Cyber World and returned to the real world VR Room.

"Ops. Triggered the emergency system…"

The Dimensional Area was disengaged and the entry door unlocked: both of them panted to recover their breaths.

"Whoa. A draw…! That was intense!" Netto laughed.

"Yeah… Hadn't had an intense Cross Fusion fight in ages…!"

"Your skill is very good!" Saito told Davis.

"Please… Don't praise us." Davis scratched the back of his helmet.

Both walked out of the VR Room and found Vadous standing in the corridor: he looked amused.

"You two almost destroyed the whole square!" He laughed.

"What could ya expect from pitting two titans against each other, anyway?" Charles shrugged.

"Mutual destruction, I'd say." Netto suggested.

"Yeah. It'd be like pitting Donkey Kong against Koppa." Saito joked.

"Or Koppa against K. Rool…!" Davis joked next.

"Yeah. Anyway… I need to work on something. Later." Vadous shrugged while ginning.

He headed towards the north while Netto and Charles headed towards the south: Daratsu came out of a nearby VR Room while they were waiting for the elevator.

"Hey! Charles! I didn't know ya were onboard today. It's been a while!" He greeted.

"True! What's up, Daratsu?" Charles replied as he shook hands with him.

"You know me: I'm a training maniac." Daratsu shrugged.

"Hum… Charles? You and Daratsu - san have some history together, maybe?" Netto asked.

"We have a special relation." Daratsu admitted.

"Special? Could you explain it to us?" Saito asked.

"Sure. It's more or less the same thing which goes on between Boss and you two."

"Between Vadous – san, niisan and I…? Hum… Wait, wait! It rings a bell somewhere…!" Netto frowned.

"Could it be that…?" Saito seemed to get the idea.

"Yeah! I'm also a clone! I'm Charles' shadow." He pointed at him with his thumb finger.

"Whoa! How did it happen?" Netto asked, awed.

"Well. Maria got picked about me so she managed to get her hands on some DNA and living tissue which she used to fast-breed Daratsu and told him to train him into martial arts…" Charles admitted.

"We didn't figure it out until we had a little face-off around 3 years ago, before "Nebula" began moving up." Davis sighed.

"Wow." Saito whistled.

"Cool…" Netto whistled in admiration.

"Oh! Yeah. I was the one monitoring Forte and Shirakami back before they were preparing to use the Dimensional Area Facility. One evening I leaned on a device in front of Shirakami, and, because he was half-asleep, he thought he was seeing things: 'cause when he looked again, I wasn't there." He chuckled.

"You were monitoring them, then?" Saito asked.

"Yeah. That's how we knew what they were up to all the time."

"I didn't know 'bout that one. I heard the news back then but I wasn't sure if you'd been involved or not." Charles commented.

"We were wondering the same thing." Davis admitted.

"Now you know. And I guess you must've been left quite satisfied."

"And Dr. Lartes, Kir Osh – san and Kuro Kaze – san are normal people, then?" Netto guessed.

"Yeah! Boss recruited them from there and there over time."

"Okay! It was nice talking with ya, Daratsu, but we ought to get going before night falls down there." Charles smiled at him.

"But of course. Ya know… Yer welcome anytime." Daratsu smiled.

"Thanks for the invitation. Bye." Charles replied.

"Good-bye!"

They got into the elevator: Charles pressed the "DOCKING BAYS" button.

"Down we go!"

"And up we go." Davis joked.

"Did ya say somethin', Dave~? Hal wants to know what "popcorn" is about before allowing ya to heat it up in the microwave heater!"

"Jeez."

The elevator reached their destination soon enough and they stepped out into a small hall with two armored doors at left and right labeled "DOCKING BAY #3" and "DOCKING BAY #4" respectively.

"Omega is in Docking Bay #3 today." Netto announced.

They picked the door to the left and entered a new room with a surprising design: the floor was just a giant platform suspended by steel columns on the borders.

The real floor, two meters below them, contained a set of fans which were currently stopped.

The whole room was about five or six meters tall and eight or ten wide.

A shuttle was resting on top of a mechanism set on the ground and Omega was leaning to the right of the open hatch.

"You're ready to go back?" He asked them.

"You know the drill." Charles replied.

"Drill, drill and drill 'till you complete the tunnel." Davis improvised a rhyme.

"You could patent it." Omega suggested with a grin.

"But Drill Man would claim I stole it from him, then!" Davis warned with a blink of his right eye.

"Why didn't they name him Tunnel Man?" Saito suggested.

"No. They should call Guts Man Gorilla Man instead and dress him as Donkey Kong!" Netto laughed.

"Bwah, hah, hah! And then Mario would beat him 'cause he kidnapped Princess Peach _again_. And Koppa would try to beat him to claim a record in kidnappings, too!" Omega laughed in a hysterical manner.

"No! They'd destroy each other!" Charles warned.

"The Mutual Villain Annihilation, it'd be named!" Omega suggested.

"I can totally see it: _Donkey Kong VS Koppa_. Pick _Great Melee Smash Brothers DX_ and have them fight each other to death in the "Terminus" Stage, ya know, the one which belongs to Master Hand… And Crazy Hand as well…" Davis suggested.

"Ask Hal to warp it with his magic warp tricks."

"Jeez. It should come physically because transmitting such data in an encoded manner across so many millions of kilometers of empty space isn't easy." Davis rolled his eyes.

"And not even the Monolith could overcome light-speed: but Kubrick's team's "near-light speed travel" sequence beats the _Star Wars_ "hyper-space" in an absolute manner." Omega grinned.

"Papa showed the film to us: now, that last segment WAS creepy! And the music didn't help either! The landscapes looked… eerie!" Saito admitted while seemingly feeling a shudder go down his spin.

"It was a very different movie! It forced you to try to imagine what was going on…! You gotta tell us more about it!" Netto told Charles.

"Sure. That was the product of the cooperation between two unique geniuses: Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick… Unique! Impossible to repeat… And the grace to it is its mechanical effects which had a more realistic feeling…" Charles got animated.

"The Odyssey - pedia dropped by." Davis joked.

"Oho. Good, good." Omega looked amused.

"Heh, heh, heh! Let's go! _Rock 'n roll_!"

"Plus _roll 'n rock_!"

18: 49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Guts, guts! Let's see, guts… Huh? H&M store: under construction. H&M must mean High & Max, guts…"

"Dunno! But let's check it out: I'm sure the "treasure" of Internet City is hiding there!"

"Roger, de guts."

Guts Man was standing in front of two locked steel gates with a white banner placed over them: Dekao looked eager.

"Heh, heh, heh! If I find the treasure, then I'll be rich and Meiru – chan will marry me! Hah, hah, hah!" Dekao laughed.

"Right, Dekao! And then Roll – chan will be with Guts Man, de guts. Guts Hammer! Gattsu~!"

Guts Man forced the doors open and ran inside only to find a warp point in the ground: he stepped on it and was warped inside of another Cyber World: it was decorated with a hologram of Uranus: Guts Man looked around in a confused manner.

"Guts? What's this place, de guts?" He wondered.

"Weird! That doesn't look like a store." Dekao frowned.

"Warning: Code A. Code A! HQ personnel: please report to combat positions. Repeat: Code A. Code A! HQ personnel: please report to combat positions." An automated voice rang out.

A maze's wall suddenly lifted from the ground and formed around Guts Man while continuously shifting patterns and pushing him deeper in: he soon had lost all sense of orientation.

"Guts? Where's the entrance at, guts?" He wondered.

"Come at full power!" A heavy voice challenged.

Sigma suddenly showed up in front of his noses while brandishing his sword: Guts Man assumed a fighting pose.

"Huh? Cha are Guts Man!" Sigma looked surprised.

"Huh? That Sigma guy, de guts… You're looking for the treasure, too, guts?" Guts Man asked.

"Treasure…? The Internet City "treasure" rumors, ya mean? No. This is our HQ. I'm in charge of Cyber World security today." Sigma replied.

"But the door…" Guts Man argued.

"That was supposed to keep people at bay." Sigma grumbled.

"Then there's a treasure, guts."

"What?"

"They say treasures have distractions to keep people at bay, guts. So you're lookin' for it, too, guts." Guts Man argued.

"What the… You've never tried to read _Treasure Island_ by Robert Louis Stevenson?"

"No! I don't need to: _there's_ a treasure here!" Dekao shot back.

"That of the "treasure" is a rumor started by someone who believes himself to be extremely smart! Now get back home and stop pestering people, will ya!" Sigma growled.

"I need it!" Dekao groaned.

"Then go to Treasure Island!"

"Treasure Island is right there! Step away! It's mine!"

"By all the… If Sakurai sees you acting like this, she's gonna ditch ya for Hikawa!" Sigma improvised.

"No way!" Dekao looked panicked.

"Guts! Roll – chan wants to pick Ice Man? What will Guts Man do? De guts?" Guts Man looked panicked too.

"Cha can go protect yer Aki – sama! Maybe you'll become Internet City's King Kong, too!" Sigma grinned.

"O~h! AKI – SAMA~! GATTSU~!"

The maze was cancelled as Sigma snapped his left hand's fingers and he signaled the exit: Guts Man ran over there.

"Oi! Guts Man! Wait! That's a trap! Go back! Claim the treasure! Oi! Guts Man!" Dekao growled.

"AKI – SAMA~! DE GATTSU~!"

Guts Man came out of the system and Sigma sighed in relief as he signaled the warp point and it got locked by a red metallic cover.

"Phew."

"Good job, Sigma."

Blood Shadow walked over to him from an open gateway and looked rather amused: Sigma grinned.

"Thanks, _aibou_!"

"Wow. That's a first." Blood Shadow whistled in surprise.

"By the way… Wasn't it surprising? I mean… That Dark Ryuusei guy… His design looked so similar to yours…" Sigma whispered.

"I noticed. Ironies in life, I guess."

"Heh, heh, heh! So… Are we gonna go and blow some Darkloids up in the VR simulator again?" Sigma suggested.

"Sure. I'm always ready for some packed action."

"The Bust Duo is on the move! Hide yer punk hairstyles!" Sigma suddenly joked.

"No. They need to hide the smuggled Channel 9 perfume stolen off Madonna's bathroom at the Ritz…!" Blood Shadow was barely holding his laughter back.

Both of them laughed at their own improvised jokes and looked in totally high spirits: their bond was very strong.


	29. Chapter 28: Ending

**Chapter 28: Ending**

11:07 AM (Japan Time), Friday January the 18th…

"… Hiya."

"Ah. Blood. Welcome."

"By the way, Blood… What happened to Yuriko?"

Netto and Saito were talking with Blood Shadow after he'd popped out in Saito's PC during break time.

"She's behaving and being of help: Needle Man is still under surveillance just in case but insofar he's been pretty quiet and the only thing he's done is pull rather weird puns on the Police Navis."

"Speaking of which…" Netto turned serious.

"Dr. Regal. What about the guy?"

"Huff. Yuriko and Dr. Wily have been pressuring but he's trying to put all the blame in Dr. Wily… Wily does have some degree of blaming because he did that of stuffing their heads with that "villain" stuff and using them as guinea-pigs but… They're trying to have him at least admit that what "Nebula" did was because he wanted to but…"

"Damn it. They shouldn't have let them loose."

"The guy must've pulled some favors."

"I know." Blood Shadow sighed.

"At least try to stop them from bringing up the ghosts of the past and trying to annoy us in purpose!" Netto growled.

"We don't need those."

"I know, I know… Cool it down, guys… We're doing what we can and the Committee is trying to figure out the extent of the favors but it'd seem the "Neo Gospel" guys are messing around with the data too…"

"Lovely. "KO" must find Regal's presence helpful."

"No use crying over spilled milk."

"Oi! You two! What was that maze thing in the store?" Dekao suddenly rushed to their desks.

"Jeez. The store was a cover to hide the Warp Point to the Subspace HQ and the maze is the defense system. There! Sigma didn't want to fight you 'cause he's a friend so he lured Guts Man out!" Netto sighed.

"Not fair! I was gonna get the treasure!"

"Oh! The treasure rumor! I started it up!" Yaito admitted all of a sudden.

"Wha! Why?"

"To see if ya could use yer brains, big boy~…"

"And I guess he failed. Searching an H&M store… Do you expect a fashion brand to be hiding a treasure?" Meiru grinned.

"Of course not…" Tooru rolled his eyes.

"Devil! Oi, Brad!"

"Blood! _Buraddo_! And don't blame me for the system either!"

"Where's the treasure?"

"Ayanokouji – san just told you: it doesn't exist! She made it up to see if you'd really chase that believing it was real!"

"Oi, Yaito! Not fair!"

"_Baka_! All's fair when it comes to testing ya~…" She shrugged.

"Next time send the guy to chase "Ego Man"…" Meiru giggled and whistled a tune.

"Please…" Tooru found it to be pretty stupid.

"Well…" Netto didn't seem to know what to say.

"I'm not sure if that'll work…" Saito trailed off.

"We can't know for real…" Blood Shadow sighed.

11:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Gentlemen! The crisis is officially over. I guess this was worth a celebration, so I brought some _champagne_ over."

"By the way… Captain Freddie! Don't mess with Daniel Redford again if you may."

"… Very funny, gentlemen!"

"Heh, heh, heh!"

A meeting of the Justice Council had been organized: Davis held out a bottle of _champagne_ while Charles directed a smile at Captain Sommerston: he didn't find it funny while the rest of the council laughed.

"_Mamma mia_! Captain. You had no right to pick on Senator Komero: and you knew it!" Pingole argued.

"Internal strife leads to no good ends." Commander Alamantz warned by lifting his right open hand.

"Yeah. Look at the patent wars." Senator McIrranay lifted his eyebrows and looked amused.

"They're eternal." Senator Lopez sighed.

"But not as eternal as a traffic jam in rush hour, I'd say!" Komero added.

"Ah? Aha – hah!" Captain Soomerston directed a suspicious glare to him.

"Oi, oi! What's with that look, Captain Sommerston…?" He asked.

"There's something called "complot" in here!" He warned.

"Captain Sommerston! This is being outrageous." Commander Alamantz warned.

"Crap." He muttered.

"I guess this rivalry won't end anytime soon." Charles muttered and rolled his eyes.

"I can see why." Davis sighed.

"Totally." Nokay sighed.

"Oh come on." Senator Kaygon sighed as well.

"But let's not forget: "Neo Gospel" and "KO" still lurk out there, somewhere, and we must try to counter any of their incoming attacks! Is that clear enough?" Davis reminded them.

"Of course!"

"Good! And now… Listen to the new banner! "The road stretches, twists, and returns to being a road"…" Charles quoted.

"Doesn't that mean it's a closed loop?" Komero frowned.

"Of course it is…" Sommerston fumed.

"Don't blame us!" Charles grinned.

"It's not like we're telling Mr. Dragon Hell which banners to pick up from time to time either…" Commander Alamantz told them.

"We knew. By the way, those ID-locked weapons keep on increasing and now it'd seem there's a new version which will work together with bodily nanomachines to make sure the lock will only be released if they're authorized to by the control center… But if this spreads you'll need a huge computer center with tons of servers to store up data and be looked up live anytime anywhere using either satellite band-width, 3G or just plain old radio…" McIrranay reported.

"How curious… Oh! I see! If someone were to take control of the center they could lock all issued weapons and render soldiers powerless. It's a double-edged thing! Maybe Twilight came up with it and discreetly sold it off to those who advocate for gun control…" Davis gasped.

"Heck. Trouble already…!" Nokay grumbled.

"But nothing will make us stray from our mission: to fight them back with all possible manners! Let's go for it, everyone! For Justice!" Davis stood up to rally.

"YEAH! FOR JUSTICE!"

11:17 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew. I managed to run away from those two. Luckily, the homeroom teacher is catching up and they're getting more pressure. But… Why haven't the police told me anything yet? I know: I couldn't facilitate much clues expect for the name, but…"

Arashi Masuko was sitting in a bench placed in the corner of a middle school's front yard: some students were playing soccer and others talking while he seemingly tried to stay out of sight: he looked down.

"… They told me those people had already been dismantled and that it was most likely a solo culprit placing the blame on them… And even I thought it wasn't much taller than me and it wouldn't have an alibi for that time of night… It might be a foreigner who was just passing by…"

He looked at his black wristwatch and shrugged.

"If I had power, then I could have them arrested…" He sounded frustrated.

His Link PET beeped and he picked it up to look at the screen.

"Phone call… Hidden number…? It must be another phone company…"

He pressed the "REPLY" button and brought it close to his right ear.

"Arashi Masuko… You need power? I can grant it to you." A distorted man's voice rang out.

"W-what?" He gasped.

"In exchange… You will become one member of an organization I'm starting to build up. It'll most likely take time to shape and finish but I can give you power to crush those lowlifes who do that stuff to others like you around the country." The man told him.

"… I accept." He calmly decided.

"Good reply. Call me "Priest". I'll soon grant you a custom Navi and material to carry that out. Listen: you'll be building a "mask" around your persona. This mask will hide your new nature and set eyes off you: but one day you will be able to crush those idiots who look down on you."

"… I understand, Priest – sama." He began to form an evil grin.

"I can notice determination on your voice. That's good. It won't be even a month from now when you'll soon set upon chaos and confusion amongst those before the police wrap them up: they're an eyesore and need to be removed from the way." "Priest" told him.

"Yeah. And I'm going to be leading a double identity life, then? It sounds better than being consumed by depression for the next half a year. I'll carry on any jobs you order me to, Priest – sama." He closed his left fist.

"Heh, heh, heh. You will have companions whom you will work along but you'll be acting independently at first to prove your worth and power: hold nothing back. Let those flames of fury burn inside of you and draw power from them! Use the _Dark Side_ and stab a sword through the neck of that worthless woman who treated you like garbage! Then you will achieve freedom and power! Feed on them and you'll evolve into a Sith warrior which can't be brought down by any Jedi!" "Priest" rallied him.

"By your orders… _My Master_." He improvised the last two words.

"You pledge obedience to me, Kobe's Arashi Masuko?"

"Forever. My flesh will serve Master forever. Only death will stop me from serving Master." He looked ready to do anything.

"Excellent! But cool it down for the time being. Go back to your class and act like everyone expects of you: nothing can be suspected yet. I'll contact your further on with instructions. Let "Dark" guide your road!" "Priest" encouraged.

"Roger."

Arushi pocketed the Link PET while quickly putting on his usual face: he inwardly chuckled and headed over to the entrance as the front clock read 11:25 AM: he joined the other students, who didn't notice anything unusual.

_I've been granted power! I was chosen! Heh, heh, heh! _

He chuckled under his breath and his eyes shone with malice…

13:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! I did it! I completed _Super Mario Bros. DX_. We'll soon see if Omega will mark a record."

"Consider it done, _Danna_."

"There you go again… You really like sneaking on everyone!"

"Can't be helped, I'd say."

Vadous had finished the game and Omega appeared behind him with a broad grin on his face.

"Anyway… Nothing weird happened out there." He reported.

"Good. By the way… Did you come up with _this_?" Vadous asked.

He selected a JPG file displaying Sidier being chased by Michelangelo: he was seemingly swimming as fast he could while looking behind with a face of angst as Michelangelo opened his jaws.

"Yeah. I did." Omega grinned.

"I guess I'll have to reprogram Michelangelo to only swim around…"

"Guess I had a fit of irony. But his mere name is ironic." Omega shrugged.

"Yeah. I know. The irony is that Higure Yamitarou has the _yami Kanji_ on his name yet he never did anything really "evil"..." Vadous muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"True. He just danced the hula-hoop." Omega laughed.

"Oi, oi…"

"And then Dragon Hell told him that money and Chips make a dangerous combination so he fled to the mountains and began serious training to try to purify his hide and become a "shining" man to impress Mariko – sensei and kick Commander Beef around over and over again." Omega laughed.

"You really need to have that glitch thing fixed and SOON."

"Soon! Coming soon! Soon! In the monsoon!"

14:28 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah… Nothing exciting has happened anymore, de masu… I want some thrill, de masu… Mariko – _sensei_~! De masu~!"

"Why don't you try to become a shining man, Yamitarou?"

"De masu?"

Higure had been leaning on his store's counter while looking totally bored or depressed when Number Man had made a suggestion: he lifted his head and looked at his hologram.

"This way… Maybe even Mariko – _sensei_ will take notice of you." Number Man told him.

"Really, de masu?" Higure gasped and quickly stood up.

"Pick the weekend and go make some spiritual exercises." He suggested.

"Heh, heh, heh… I see. That's what it means!" A familiar voice rang out.

"A~h! De masu~! The enemy, de masu! Prepare for battle! De masu~!

Higure picked a broom and jumped over the counter: Dark Miyabi showed up in front of him and Higure lost balance: he collapsed behind the counter with a loud CRASH sound.

"_Sengoku Ninja_ Tactic #13: force the enemy to fall for their own setup and save yourself the trouble of falling yourself on it." He quoted.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Shadow Man chuckled.

"De masu~…" Higure looked dizzied.

"Yamitarou…" Number Man grumbled.

"I'll leave you two to strangle each other. Farewell." Miyabi grinned.

"Tactic #2: make a flashy escape." Shadow Man quoted.

Miyabi dropped a smoke bomb and vanished from the room while Higure muttered something under his breath: Number Man sighed in defeat and looked elsewhere…

16:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Freeze Man DIDN'T appear, you say? You gotta be pulling my leg!"

Hinoken looked skeptical once the twins had told him the news: Miyabi, Enzan and Laika were there, too: Miyabi was sitting on a stool next to the counter while Enzan and Laika shared the table.

"Well! He didn't show up, yeah. You'll have to look for him and you'll find "KO" along. _No pain, no gain_, Hinoken." Saito grinned.

"Yeah. Do us a favor and figure out that guy's ID!"

"You never change, Hinoken?" Enzan asked.

"He's a walking volcano." Laika added.

"Worse: a walking H – Bomb." Miyabi countered.

"LOOK WHO'S TALKING! WHO DO YA THINK YE ARE? SOME KIND OF _NINJA_ FANATIC? I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS SHOW! GO AND GET LOST IN GUNMA, YOU CREEPS!" He roared.

He tossed his handkerchief in the counter while running out and climbed into the van before speeding away with a loud sound: everyone looked towards the street door with surprised faces.

"He will have to pay for the spent oil." Blues smiled.

"There's no doubt about it: this month's red numbers will grow." Search Man added with a smile as well.

"Let's hope it's under insurance." Shadow Man chuckled.

"Who knows?" Sigma chuckled.

"Maha does!" Blood Shadow joked.

"Ah… This young man and his anger…" A familiar voice commented while sounding resigned.

"Ah. Dr. Wily." Enzan grinned.

Dr. Wily wore a green raincoat, blue pants and his leather cap today.

"It's been three years already… The ghosts of the past sure torment his burning soul! Heh, heh, heh." He chuckled.

"_Yes, sir_! There's _no_ _doubt_ about _it_! _Take that_, _bearded guy_!" Count Elec laughed.

"My, my…" Madoi looked unimpressed.

"A great catastrophe will soon begin." Maha grimly muttered.

"Hinoken – sama…" Fire Man sighed in defeat.

"Count Elec…" Elec Man rolled his eyes.

"Tee, heh, heh! This is gonna be fun!" Colored Man teased.

"I don't think so!" Magic Man grimly muttered.

"Maybe _Feng Shui_ is the answer to it?" Laika suggested.

"That reminds me… I should practice it more…" Miyabi brought his right hand to his chin.

"Buy a cheap Xing Dynasty vase copy." Shadow Man chuckled.

"The local Choina bazaar has a million of them, anyway." Blues looked rather amused.

"And they're all sold at just 500 Credits." Search Man concreted.

"That's too cheap to be good." Blood grinned.

"Guess a tornado will shatter 'em all." Sigma shrugged.

"Who cares? It's curry time!" Netto announced.

He started to devour it at his usual mad speed.

"Netto! Don't go so fast or you'll choke!" Saito scolded him.

"Uh-huh!" Netto did not slow down.

"You're such a blockhead…" Saito rolled his eyes.

Everyone laughed at the jokes…

03:33 AM (Honolulu Time), Thursday January the 17th…

"… Cloud Man: any abnormalities? Over."

"No, Freeze Man – sama. Over."

"Cosmo Man: any abnormalities? Over."

"Not really, Freeze Man – sama. Over."

"Swallow Man Man: any abnormalities? Over."

"Of course not, Freeze Man – sama. Over."

"Yamato Man Man: any abnormalities? Over."

"Hum. No."

"Alright. I just want to be careful and sorry if I'm pushing you guys but I want to be wary: you never know when anyone might drop by here or how much have those guys figured out ever since August… Those weird guys who ended up bringing up a lot of publicity seem to be gone from the picture so… I guess Mister "KO" will work on his plans but he wants to wait until the summer to execute them."

Freeze Man was using a holographic screen in a Cyber World somewhere to check on the other "Darkloids": he distractedly gathered at a statue of a panther colored in jade color before sighing.

"Beat Victor Fries." A voice rang out behind him.

"I know, Mister "KO"… Huh? Wait. He should be asleep! Ah! Cloud Man: don't try to play with me."

"Huh? But… Freeze Man – sama… I'm on my assigned patrol post: my live is feed!" Cloud Man argued back.

"Heh, heh, heh… Heh, heh, heh…"

"That voice…! OH!"

"Could it be…?"

"Yeah! I'm back! _Return of the Twilight_!"

"Twilight – sama!"

A Net Navi had shown up behind Freeze Man and he quickly saluted while the other four warped into that spot and saluted as well.

"You must've missed me!"

Twilight was over a meter and eighty in height.

His form's design was highly reminiscent of Rock Man's one.

He wore a helmet with a mouth guard activated: his eyes' irises were visible and it could be seen that they were colored crimson red.

His chest emblem consisted on just two shades of black and white split by a horizontal grey line: he had two curious shoulder pads which were shaped as two split halves of a diamond: his main body's color was navy blue although the forearms and his boots were colored in purple.

A black smooth cape hung from the back of his shoulders and reached all the way to the floor as well as an add-on to his bodysuit.

"Where were you, sir?" Freeze Man asked.

"Huff. Well. I poured out TOO MUCH of my power back in August and ended up pretty drained so I needed a while to recover. I had some fun in Brazil stirring up the underground there… And I've been visiting IQ – sama as well. Their Grace doesn't mind how long we must wait until taking them out of there…" Twilight smiled and shrugged.

"Now that Twilight – sama is back… Those fools will know to fear us!"

"Well said, Cosmo Man! Oi, Swallow Man! We'll go all out on 'em!"

"Of course, Cloud Man! What about you, Yamato Man?"

"Hah! Let them realize their own powerlessness!"

"Good, good! I see you guys passed the test with flying colors."

"Of course, Twilight – sama! We didn't intend to disappoint you, sir!"

"Heh, heh, heh…! Heh, heh…! Mwah, hah, hah…! Hah, hah, ha~h…!"

21:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew! We had a hot afternoon with Tooru – kun."

"Yeah. Our threesomes are exciting: we tried "raw" today and it felt good nevertheless."

Netto and Saito had changed into their pajamas and were about to cleanse their teeth given the toothbrushes on their right hands and how they were looking at the bathroom's sink mirror.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Go!"

They both began to brush their teeth at a mad speed before swallowing some water from cups and spitting the paste out: they resumed cleansing before they finished.

"Heh, heh, heh! Guess we're at a match, Netto – kun."

"Sure, Saito – niisan."

"I don't care about what those jerks come up with next. They can't do much by now and they'll run outta ideas."

"Obviously. They'll resort to send Viruses to do the work for them while they start hacking games." Netto grinned.

They came out of the bathroom and got into the bedroom: Sigma and Blood Shadow were discussing over an image of a Chinese-written banner with Sigma grinning and Blood Shadow grumbling.

"…it's totally lame and you came up with it this time around!"

"Mwah, hah, hah! "Adventure for the road bad illness is"… It's superb, grand and splendid!"

"Oh come on! Stop trolling me, Sigma."

"Mwah, hah, hah! I win this round, Bloody~ Shadowy~!"

"I gotta admit it: that motto's lame." Saito grumbled.

"Sure thing… Sounds like some attempt to imitate Master Yoda!"

"Well! I'm off to stand watch near the firewall. _Bye-bye_!"

"Jeez. I hope Boss fixes Commander Omega's glitch. I really do."

"Of course… We prefer his serious persona."

"And we still dunno why "Anger God" is the only thing which can seem to change the mood of Dragon – san…"

"Dunno. Maybe it's because he fears being sacked."

"Guess that. Fua~h… We're gonna nap but set the alarm clock at 9 AM 'cause we don't want to oversleep either."

"OK!"

"Good night, guys."

Netto and Saito climbed into their beds and fell asleep while Blood Shadow smiled and got inside of the PC: he sat on a corner of the ground and leant his back against a wall while mumbling.

"Sigma will warn me of anything which comes or the alarm system will do so… And we set up a device to disable any attempts to form "gateways" and "Dimensional Converters" so… No danger on that part. The night-shift "Committee" agents will take care of the street too…"

"Bloody~ Shadowy~! Let's go to Dragon Hellish party~!" Sigma suddenly called out.

_Oh come on! Sigma! Just nap and let the sensors wake you up if something mysterious comes close by! Oh well! All's well if it ends well, I guess! _

"Mwah, hah, hah! Time to go nap! My _aibou_~!"

_Sure, sure. You and your sword go to sleep… Anyway! Good night!_

He formed a broad smile as he finally fell asleep…

**THE END**


End file.
